


Trilogy 5 - Raven's Skin

by Joy



Series: Trinity Universe - 3rd Series - Trilogy [5]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Drama, M/M, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-26
Updated: 2014-08-26
Packaged: 2018-02-14 20:36:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 83,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2202186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joy/pseuds/Joy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Another visit to Diné, but the visit is cut short by trouble at the SGC.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

_"Knowing that you would have wanted it this way,  
I do believe I'm feelin' stronger every day."_

 

...

 

 

Daniel pushed away from his desk and stretched, adding a yawn for value. Absently tossing his glasses on the desk, he rubbed at his eyes while blindly touching a button on the monitor to dim the light.

"That bad?" Sam asked from the doorway.

Startled a bit, the instantaneous recognition of her voice kept him from jumping. He looked over, tilting his head. "No, not really, just incredibly monotonous." He waved at the pictures of stone text taken from inside a few ruined buildings. "It didn't take long to decipher the language. It's just that in translating it, I found that the people who once inhabited P4X-259 had a bleak view of creative writing."

"Again, that bad?" she grinned.

"Oh well, not really. I mean, it's fascinating in a way."

"But?"

"But nothing of any real significance." At her hopeful look he added, "or of any military value."

"Ah."

"Ah," he echoed, standing up and stretching some more. He finally caught on to her body language, screaming that she wanted to talk. "So, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing bad or anything. Just..."

"You wanna talk."

"Yeah."

"Is it disastrous?"

"I dunno yet."

"Okay, then. Out with it."

"Okay," she said, taking a breath. "Two things. First thing, it's something I wanna bounce off you and have you think about. Nothing we have to finish here but--"

"Sam."

"Um... okay, I um... need some advice."

"About?" he asked, indicating that she sit in the chair next to his desk as he moved to close the bulkhead door.

She sat down with a thump, which told Daniel she was doing what he did when bothered a great deal and trying to hide it. Except he was better at it. "That bad?" he asked, shooting her a grin for repeating her question to him.

She smiled wanly, fiddling with her hands, and gave him such an imploring look that Daniel did a double-take as he sat back in his chair.

"Shit, it is bad. What's wrong?"

"Daniel, how do you handle having a relationship with the Colonel?"

"I'm sorry?" he asked, thrown off.

"He's your superior officer, your team leader. When you guys argue or fight, how do you handle working together during the difficult times?"

"You never ask the simple stuff, do you?" She looked embarrassed so Daniel took a hesitant, uncomfortable breath, figuring that what was troubling her had to do with Teal'c. Daniel had sensed them acting uncomfortably around each other for quite some time, but he'd been hoping it was just some sort of adjustment period, like Teal'c getting used to a Tau'ri woman.

Biting at his lip, he sat back, absently drumming his fingers on the desk. "I don't exactly know what you want to hear, Sam. If I'm pissed off at him, I deal with it because I don't have a choice. What'm I gonna do? Act like a teenage girl and stomp off in a huff, proclaiming in a whiny, screechy voice that I'm quitting because Jack's being an asshole?"

She snorted, grinning because the image was so ludicrous, she couldn't help but smile. "The only thing I can tell you," he went on, "is that I concentrate on my job and try to move past it because that's all I _can_ do. Anything less and I disrespect myself. If we have a moment, I'll go talk to Jack or, believe it or not, he'll come talk to me. If we can't do that, then when we get home, we try and resolve it--providing he hasn't made it worse while we're in the field."

He furrowed his brow, staring back at her troubled expression. "I think your question has to do more with your relationship than mine. Did you two have a fight?" He drew out the words, waiting for her to contradict him because he wanted her to. He didn't like his friends unhappy.

"No, not really," she said heavily. "Teal'c's been going through a kind of adjustment period, one where he's feeling guilty about being with me because his culture's different than ours." She paused and made a face. "So he's having a hard time, I'm having a hard time. It was okay at first, but he has these ideas that push me the wrong way. I'm not the way he wants me to be."

Daniel's browline went up. "Macho man, Chulak-style?"

"Oh yeah." Sam got up and began to pace, occasionally looking over to Daniel as she spoke. "He accepts my position, my knowledge, my expertise, but..." She chewed at her lip. "It's just that he's so wise about a lot of things but when it comes to women and sex, he's..."

"Restrictive?" When she paused and looked at him, Daniel nodded. "Right."

"I thought he'd be perfect," she admitted, "until I got a good look at his culture and how he was raised. I love him dearly, Daniel, but it's not working out and I don't want to hurt his feelings." She sighed and crossed her arms. "I'm sorry to put you on the spot. I shouldn't have."

"Sam--"

"No, really, Daniel. All I really wanted was to use you as a sounding board, have you tell me anything I might not be seeing."

Daniel shook his head. "I can't see anything. I know you don't want to hurt his feelings, but frankly, Sam, I think he'll be relieved that he's not hurting _you_ more than any possibility of you hurting him."

Sam looked surprised, not having considered that fact about Teal'c and hating that she hadn't. She'd been too angry at his sexism to see it. "Maybe you're right. I'll talk to him when we get back but I'm not looking forward to it."

"No one ever does," Daniel said glumly, and so solemnly that Sam stared at him, alarm written on her face. "What?" he asked.

"You're not splitting up, are you?"

"What? Hell, no. Listen, when you talk to Teal'c, do everyone a favor and don't tell him you were talking to me about your relationship unless he asks."

"Way ahead of you, Daniel, don't worry."

"Great, okay. So, what's the second thing you came to tell me?"

"Oh, right," she said, frowning. "It's our next mission. Hammond asked for an additional short briefing before we leave. About what, I don't know. We'll know in..." She looked at her watch. "55 minutes. Afterwards, we head off to the Tok'ra to pick up SG-2 on our way to the Beta Site."

Just then, Jack opened the door, interrupting. "Hey there. You tell him, Carter?"

"Just did, sir."

Jack made a face. "Sorry, wish I'd caught you first. Destination's changed."

"To where?" Daniel asked. His curiosity would've been tweaked had it not been for the dark vibe he was getting from Jack. Something bad.

"Diné."

"Diné?" Sam asked.

Daniel's stomach seemed to fill with cold stone as an internal alarm went off. "What's happened?"

"The shaman, Asatay, just contacted us on Lin's behalf."

"Not Lin himself?" Daniel said.

"No. And he's asked for Jason to come ASAP."

"Because?" Daniel pressed, unaware that he was holding his breath.

Jack swallowed. "Lin's dying."

The room went quiet and Daniel closed his eyes just as Jack looked at the floor. After a minute, he whispered, "I'm such an unfeeling asshole. I can't believe I didn't take him more seriously."

"Who, Jason?" Sam asked.

"He's been having strange dreams last few days," Daniel told her. "He had a bad feeling. I kept trying to tell him it was probably nothing."

"But why's that make you an asshole?" Sam scowled reprimandingly. "You love him, Daniel. You just wanted to protect him."

"Except we have an understanding to always tell the truth, no matter what. I didn't want to believe anything bad would happen because I didn't want it to. For him, for us, doesn't matter."

"Stop it, Daniel," Jack scolded. "Now, what we have to do next is go to the briefing, then get geared up, grab Jason and his teammates, and proceed directly to Diné. We contact Hammond and let him know we arrived, then go see what's what."

"Does Hammond know that this is probably going to be religious so it may take a while?" Daniel asked.

"Given that Asatay mentioned some sort of _thing_ , that's a given."

"He did?" Daniel asked.

"What'd he say, sir?"

Jack shrugged. "Some sort of spiritual transfer thing. I didn't ask because I figured we'd be better off to find out in person, get all the details, then call Hammond for the update."

Daniel and Sam nodded, not faulting the logic.

Jack looked at them both. "So what's up? You two seemed intense when I walked in."

Sam evaded his eyes as she got up and walked around him. "Nothing, sir, just getting some advice. See you at the briefing." She beat a hasty retreat, shooting Daniel a pleading look that he fill Jack in so she wouldn't have to.

Jack watched her retreating back, then looked at Daniel. "What?"

Daniel quickly looked up and down the corridor before closing the door. "Teal'c."

"Shit," Jack said, hissing inward. "I hate to say I saw that coming but..."

"Jack," Daniel said.

Jack held up a finger. "Don't say it, Daniel." Daniel froze, except for the three rapid blinks of his eyelashes. Jack was going to alter the subject at that moment just to catch Daniel off-guard and tell him how sexy he thought those rapid blinks of his were. But the look on Daniel's face also told him not to.

"Say what?" Jack didn't elaborate, but Daniel had a feeling that Jack might have thought he was about to call him an ass. He smirked back at him. "Don't interfere."

Jack was caught off-guard instead and it annoyed the hell out of him. "Who's interfering?"

"You are. Or you're about to. Don't. You want Teal'c to repay that so-called kindness when _we_ fight?" Daniel finished the question with a rather smug rise of his brows.

Jack's plans abruptly changed. "On second thought."

"Exactly." As he grabbed his keys and fatigue jacket and moved to pass Jack for the door, Jack laid a hand on his arm.

"Hang on."

Daniel gave him a warm, if concerned, look. "What?"

"Did you have any nightmares last night?"

Daniel somehow managed not to flinch. "No," he lied.

"Daniel, your eyes are red and there're smudges. That tells me lack of sleep." Daniel sighed and Jack's voice became softer. "I wish I could've been there." Both he and Jason had had meetings till 2200 the previous night and neither had been in the mood to drive to Daniel's. Just straight home and into bed. For all the good it had done either of them.

"Me, too, but it wouldn't've changed anything," Daniel answered.

"Would've made you feel better. All of us, for that matter."

Daniel had to admit that one. "And you?" he asked.

"And me, what?"

" _Nightmares_?" Daniel asked, emphasis and reminder in the same tone.

Jack didn't hide the fidgeting as he opened the door in his classic evasive manner. "Yeah, but so what? They're expected right?" He walked out, expecting Daniel to follow. When Daniel didn't, Jack turned in time to see Daniel disappearing from view. Jack sighed, hating that. "Daniel, now's not the time for a shrink chat," he said, going back in and shutting the door.

Daniel sat on the edge of his desk, fiddling with his keys. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna do the shrink thing." Jack's brow rose again and Daniel smirked. "That's more Jace's thing, anyway, and he's been as tight-lipped about it as you. Or me. Except for those other dreams."

Jack nodded as he sat on the edge next to him, rubbing his palms on his pants. "So what then? We don't have a lot of time here."

"Just... this," Daniel said and boldly slipped his hand into Jack's, twining their fingers together, needing the connection. He felt a warm shudder as Jack squeezed his fingers. "I've missed you. It's only been two days, and we haven't had any in a little longer than that but I've still missed you."

"Me, too," Jack said quietly.

"Maybe this visit to Diné will be good catch-up time for us." He stared at their clasped hands and turned them over, caressing the back of Jack's hand.

Jack wiggled his pinky against Daniel's, touching the ring there. He didn't have his on, but the action meant he wished he did. "They have that... what's it called... the dreamlodge or whatever?" Jack said, placing Daniel's hand against his chest. "Could be what we need."

Daniel felt the stirrings of desire and grew annoyed. Why couldn't this happen at home? He stood up but didn't walk away. Instead, he turned to Jack and stepped in front of him. Jack automatically parted his legs for him without any silent request from Daniel and it forced a tiny upward curve at the corners of Daniel's mouth. "Remember what happened the last time we were there?"

"Vividly," Jack said with a heated look in his eyes that had nothing to do with anger.

Daniel's smile widened in knowing that Jack felt it, too. Their desire was still there, just handicapped by lack of opportunity. Suddenly Daniel threw regs and caution to the wind and went with the feelings generated by Jack's return smile. He parted his lips and leaned in, snaking an arm around Jack's neck.

Jack leaned away for a second, but when Daniel pursued, he stopped moving. Daniel snuck out his tongue, licking Jack's upper lip, asking his tongue to come out and play. Jack complied, tongue playing slowly with Daniel's until both had enough of the oral foreplay and clamped their lips passionately together. An imitation of the sexual act so arousing that both men felt each other harden. When Jack's free arm went around his waist, pulling Daniel more firmly against him, Daniel moaned audibly and broke apart, letting out a shaky breath.

"This is getting so annoying. I hope we return to normal soon. Getting like this at work isn't doing much for our sex life."

"No argument here," Jack answered, embracing him in a tight, all-consuming hug, nose nestled in his hair. "Hopefully, it'll happen after Diné."

Daniel shivered at the vibration against his skin as Jack's voice stirred more attention in his cock. He turned his head and pressed his lips against Jack's ear, whispering, "Maybe it will, considering that all I want right now is for you to fuck me into a mattress."

Jack groaned, not bothering to ask which mattress because he knew it didn't matter. Instead, he squeezed Daniel tighter and held him for as long as he could before they had to break apart and head for the briefing.

**. . .**

Walking through the violet crystal corridors of the new Tok'ra homeworld, Qalar, was a sight that should have brought amazement. But Jason was in no mood to be amazed. He had no desire to be there and wished fervently that someone else could have come to fetch his 2IC, Major Alex Wagner.

But he knew that wish was empty. He needed to be here, to see for himself just what help Alex had managed to be for Jalen. And vice-versa. It would have been easier for him had the Tok'ra not stared and gaped at him. Irritation climbed from the moment he stepped through the gate with his newly promoted Captain, Al Kaufman, and his Tech Sergeant, Connor McCaffrey. They seemed amused by it, and at another time, that would have tempered Jason's mood, but not today.

"I wish they'd quit doing that," he grumbled as they turned down a connecting passageway.

"If what I've heard is true, you can't blame them," Al said quietly, turning slightly to get out of the way of three passing Tok'ra. They looked over their shoulders as they passed and suddenly Al was empathetic to Jason's mood. "On the other hand..." he started.

Jason shot him a glance, allowing a tiny smile which quickly vanished as the upcoming reunion renewed itself in his mind. He sighed heavily. "Trust me, it's true," he said.

Flanking Jason's other side, Connor said, "I know about the alternate universes, but it's still hard to believe that you have a _twin_."

"He's not _my_ twin, Connor," Jason sighed with resignation. Connor had kept referring to Jalen as Jason's actual twin and it was starting to annoy him.

"You know what I mean, sir. He's close enough. Neither of us saw that other Coburn that SG-1 had run into, so we don't really have the experience to go by."

"Judging from what Daniel told us," Al put in, "I'm glad. Who knows what else happened?"

"I agree," Connor went on. "I'm not sure I wanna know what happened to _our_ alternates."

Jason shot the man a warning look. "I'll tell you one version. From Jalen's world, you're both dead."

"You just _had_ to tell us that, didn't you?" Al snapped at him.

His grimace so transformed his face that Jason couldn't help the snickering 'I told you so' that escaped. "Sorry, Al, but if you're that curious, ask Jalen. I'm sure he could give you all the gory details."

"Point, sir," Al replied. Both he and Connor exchanged looks of agreement, thinking that perhaps their curiosity shouldn't be satisfied. Neither really wanted to know and Jason's form of sarcasm sort of brought it home rather well.

As they passed a group of Tok'ra, all of whom turned to stare at him, Jason made another growling sound and muttered, "If they keep doing that, I'm going to test the strength of our treaty."

Al and Connor exchanged grins as the team rounded a corner and entered the community meeting place that the Tok'ra seemed to have on each planet they inhabited. Jason slowed as he approached the center of the large room, his emotions now catching up with him. On the other side of the room was the corridor that led to where Alex was. And to where Jalen now lived.

Hammond had given Alex permission to visit Jalen a few times over the last three weeks to help them both heal, and while Jason would have preferred him at home, he didn't mind Alex's absence. One disastrous night had confirmed Jason's fear that their sexual relationship would be on hold for a while and dealing with it on his own was something Jason preferred so he'd all but pushed Alex through the wormhole.

He kept telling himself that he couldn't run and hide from the emotional scars created almost month ago, that feeling guilty about what had happened would only make healing slower. At the same time, there was a tightness in his gut, the traumatic reaction that defied logic, that kept the guilt inside.

Jack and Daniel had tried to help, but the three of them had their own problems to sort out. At first, their sex lives hadn't been affected, but the kidnapping and rapes had finally sunk in, exacerbated by nightmares. Memories conjured fear and that fear had taken over, bringing up guilt when any of them initiated sex or even thought about fucking. Erections tended to wilt. Now, all they could manage without stomach knots was kissing and jerking off. Jason and his lovers knew the problems wouldn't last, but for how long was the question.

Now, Jason was about to come face to face with a reminder of his sexual dysfunction. The trauma of rape wasn't Jalen's doing, but Jason couldn't help the feelings anyway. He didn't want to see him, to be reminded of memories he'd been trying to delete like files from a hard drive. It pissed him off that the sexual thrill he got from bondage currently gave him the creeps instead of a hard-on.

When Al touched his shoulder, Jason flinched and gave his teammates a weak smile. "C'mon, let's go see Selmak, then he'll introduce you to the doppelganger, we'll collect Alex, and then get on with business."

"And the next mission is?" Al asked.

"Cake run?" Connor asked hopefully.

Jason shrugged. "Not a clue, but we can hope."

They grumbled behind him as he walked on and Jason smiled to himself, feeling his heart lift yet again. Having Al and Connor with him felt like he had his anchors back. Jack and Daniel would always be part of him, but they were deeply intimate connections whereas Al and Connor were the platonic versions of that, something that Jason needed more of right now. It contributed to the reason Jason didn't miss Alex that much, either, though that added yet another reason for his increasing guilt complex.

Jason was tired. He needed a place to center himself.

"You're dwelling, Jason," Al said paternally.

Jason looked over at him, startled out of his morose thoughts, then made a face. "Yeah, I am. Sorry."

"Don't be," Connor put in. "It's understandable. Don't know how I'd be handling it all."

"I need some time on Diné," Jason suddenly said, surprising both himself and his teammates.

"We haven't been there," Al offered. "I'd like to see the place, meet your grandfather."

Jason nodded absently as one of his recent dreams returned. The distant caw of a raven came with it. Jason slowed his step and shuddered.

"What's the matter?" Al asked, eyes widening.

"Nothing," Jason said reassuringly, "it was just that 'walked over your grave' thing." His expression matched theirs and he nodded, "Exactly."

"Bad or good?" Connor asked.

"I have no fucking idea," Jason replied. "Probably some left over reaction to recent events. Pay no attention, boys."

"Yeah, like we'd do that," Al told him with a roll of his eyes.

Jason grinned to himself over their protectiveness. He'd been annoyed at first, but now, he only felt buoyed by it.

"I know I sound like a hen, but how're you doing?" Connor asked.

Jason eyed him, knowing exactly what Connor meant; it had almost nothing to do with the traumatic experience. After all, they'd had a difficult revelation dumped in their laps a few weeks before so now Connor was doubly overprotective.

Jason had told them everything that had been left out of the report. Specifically, that they'd lied. He'd felt they'd needed to know so they could be prepared for the symptoms of the post-traumatic stress. Jason had informed them of what might happen, and that they should try not to take it too personally. If he snapped at them or grew suddenly melancholy, they needed to know it wasn't them.

The information he'd confessed was on the QT, and he knew they weren't about to tell anyone else. Jason's faith in them was reaffirmed when they'd reacted with genuine concern, not disgust or horror at the homosexual nature of the rapes. Unfortunately or not, Jason had also felt it necessary to tell them he was gay. It was no longer a silently kept 'suspicion'.

Jason had told them because his reaction wasn't as traumatic as it should have been--for a straight man. Meaning there'd been no sexual identity collapse, no inner turmoil and outcry at having gotten hard over another guy. Jason had figured that they'd known--given their worrying over him at times--but they would also never ask. The only fear Jason had was their suspicions about the others. He couldn't out any of them, so he'd had to tell one large encompassing lie, and mostly for the same reason he'd told them about himself. There might be more trauma responses to expect.

Their reactions were expected. While Al and Connor respected privacy and held the opinion that sexual matters were no one else's business, they weren't happy. They'd been honest, but they'd left Jason both relieved and disappointed. He'd hoped their attitudes would've been better, but he understood their point of view.

"We'd rather you were straight," Al had said. "It would save us a lot of worrying."

They'd discussed it a little more after that, but Jason had said what he'd needed to. That they hadn't shown any hatred toward him, and only increased worry _for_ him, had taken a great deal of stress off Jason's shoulders.

"Sir?" Connor asked, bringing Jason back to the present.

"What?" Jason asked, then shook himself. "Sorry, just remembering our little convo a few weeks ago. And before you ask, yes, I'm fine, just thinking, that's all."

"Why the conversation?" Al asked.

"No reason, except that you'd reminded me about the conversation, plus other things I'll not go into." They exchanged looks Jason took for worrying about the nightmares he'd been having. It showed under his eyes. "Stop it, I'm fine."

"But you're still having nightmares," Al stated, pointing at his face, indicating the shaded area under Jason's eyes. It'd been there, off and on, for weeks.

"Not so many. Lately, I've been dreaming about my grandfather."

"Bad or good?" Connor asked.

"I don't know yet," Jason mused. He'd have explained further but was interrupted.

"Colonel," Selmak called from across the central circle. He nodded at Al and Connor as he closed in and shook hands. "When's SG-1 coming? I'd like Sam to see some technology we've been examining."

"Should be soon, sir," Jason answered quickly. "They'll be picking us up before we head off together for the Beta Site."

Jacob raised his brows. "Beta site? Anything new I should know?"

"Nothing to worry about, General," Jason said quickly. "Just some boring check-in work, I think, to make sure the new base has what it needs for the teams that'll be stationed there. Security already has a detachment there and there'll be an agricultural team moving in to set up a separate research and growing station."

"Sounds like George has finally called in some favors," Jacob answered, shaking hands with Al and Connor. "Nice to see you two back. Couldn't stay away I take it?"

Al and Connor smiled back as they shook their heads. "No, sir," they each answered.

"You'll be wanting to know where your wandering second is," Jacob sighed, "so I suppose we should go get him before Jack gets here."

Jason caught a stress note in the words. "What's happened, sir?" he asked with resignation in his own voice. "They get into a fight or something?"

It was Selmak who answered, and she was actually laughing. "Goodness no, Colonel. They have been the best of friends. However, Major Wagner has been forced into the role of intermediary."

"Intermediary? Why?" Jason asked.

"It is has been very entertaining," Selmak went on, looking smugly pleased and mischievous.

"Why?" Jason asked again more slowly.

"As you know," Selmak explained, "Jalen and Camulus have been undergoing a long debrief over the weeks they've been here. Major Wagner has been helping to facilitate that as well as help Jalen and Camulus come to terms with the programming. Fortunately, that has not been too much of a problem. The problem has been the debrief."

"They're not able to remember?" Jason asked, "Or are they fighting it? I wouldn't blame them for wanting to forget what they did."

"It is not that," Selmak said, a small grin forming.

"Then what?" Jason asked, growing impatient.

"Is it Anise?"

"God," Jason replied, rolling his eyes. "She's using that damn zatarc as part of the debrief?"

"It is not as bad as it sounds," Selmak assured, then Jacob explained. "The machine is not the problem, Jason. It's Anise's questioning. You see, Camulus is refusing to cooperate with her. He wants others, and we'd give him Aldwin but he's on assignment, gathering intel."

Jason winced. "Alex isn't able to help?"

"He's tried, but he's turned into a mediator instead. The problem is that Camulus is refusing to give her what she wants in the way she wants it. He gives her information on his own schedule, not hers, and in his own way. He's recording it via data pads instead of allowing the zatarc machine to record his thoughts."

"Can't really blame him there," Jason nodded.

"Despite his refusals, he's proven himself adept at handling her. Come on." Jacob grinned as he turned around and moved past the waist-high pool in the center of the room, exiting into the corridor Jason had been staring down. "You see," he explained as they followed, "apart from Selmak and myself, and the other council members, not many Tok'ra will argue with Anise because it's just not worth the hassle. It's less stressful to just agree and go around her. Martouf and Lantash were the only ones who called her on her manners. Camulus--the old Camulus--was..." He paused to think of the most diplomatic way he could say it. "Well, they fought all the time. They acted like an old married couple."

"What?" Jason laughed in astonishment.

"They were not married," Selmak said hastily. "But their arguing could, as Jacob would say, peel paint off the walls." He waved a hand at said walls, adding, "or in this case, shatter crystal." Jason said nothing. "You behave as if I should have said something else."

Pursing his lips wryly, Jason said, "Yeah, that's a good assumption, Selmak. I don't know about the old Camulus and Jalen, but the current two..." He eyed the man, thinking of Jacob's rather prejudiced beliefs and was abruptly reminded of his talk with Al and Connor. For a moment, Jason wondered if Jacob could use a little chat then realized that Selmak had probably taken care of that.

"Prefer men?" Jacob finished, smirking ear to ear.

Jason held back the flush of surprise. From someone like Jacob, even if he was a lot more tolerant than he would have been ten years ago, it still sounded odd. "Yeah, men."

Jacob shook his head and stopped walking. "Could I speak to you a moment, in private?" To Connor and Al, he said, "No offense, gentlemen."

"None taken."

Al and Connor waited where they were, moving against the wall as other Tok'ra passed just then. Jacob took Jason back the way they came, stopping about ten yards away. Out of earshot. "I'm not as bad as I once was, considering what living with the Tok'ra has given me. I've had an abrupt education in the issue of tolerance and understanding. That said, I was somewhat surprised to learn that your 2IC..."

Jason's eyes widened almost imperceptibly, trying to hold back the surprise. "My 2IC... Jacob," he said, dropping formality immediately. Jacob may be a General but he was retired. Personal conversations didn't hold the same protocol. Not with Jason, anyway. "If Alex has shown Jalen comfort, please tell me that it was... discreet."

Jacob's expression became a bit more guarded when Jason didn't respond. "I don't know if it's my place, given the regs back home, and the SGC doesn't exactly run under normal operations."

Jason grit his teeth, trying to determine exactly what Jacob was trying to say. "What did you see?" he asked bluntly. To his surprise, Jacob relaxed, and suddenly Jason knew that Jacob had actually been worried about outing Alex. At that moment, Jason's respect for Jacob increased ten-fold.

"I didn't know what was my place to say. All that I saw was a hug, but I do know that they've stayed together in one of the private sleeping chambers," Jacob said with a sigh. "It's a place for intimacy, Jason, not just for getting rest."

Jason's jaw flexed then as his anger at Alex started to rise but Jacob seemed to sense what was on his mind and he held up a warning hand. "I'm not judging, and they _were_ discreet, so calm down," Jacob whispered quickly. "No one disturbed them, but... these walls aren't exactly insulated from loud sounds."

Jason winced. "I apologize for his actions, Jacob. It won't happen again."

Jacob gave him the look of an older and wiser man. "I hate to sound intrusive but frankly, Jalen and Camulus needed someone to keep them grounded. Circumstances warranted Alex's presence with him. I remember what it was like to need someone who understood. I didn't take you aside to complain, but more to tell you that I know. I'm glad that it turned out that I wasn't outing him."

Jason caught on to one phrase. "You remember what it was like? You're not gay... are you?"

Jacob smiled. "No, that's not what I meant. I meant that I'd been a POW and during my debriefing, I was with people who were judging my actions. No one around me understood and I blew my stack. I hit the interrogating officer and was put in the brig for a couple of weeks till I finally had someone to come to my aid that knew something about doing what was necessary to save lives and complete a mission. I think you know who I'm talking about?"

Jason blew out a slow breath and eyed Jacob carefully. "General Hammond."

Jacob wanted to explain further, but chose to use discretion there as well. "Yes. It's only one of the reasons we're such good friends." He took a breath, moving on. "So, back to the matter at hand. This Camulus is not exactly the same as the old one."

"How are they different?" Jason asked, then remembered that the old Camulus had had a different host. He grimaced just as Jacob gave out a little laugh. "Right, sorry."

Jacob set a hand on Jason's elbow. "Before we continue, I'd like to know something else?"

"I hope I can tell you," Jason answered diplomatically.

"Do they know?" Jacob asked, and Jason knew that he meant Al and Connor.

Jason shook his head. "If he wants to tell them, he will. Thanks for not outing him." He let his worried feelings show and Jacob simply gestured ahead of them as they walked down the corridor and rejoined Al and Connor.

As they went on their way, Al and Connor gave him a queried look but Jason shook his head, a gesture they knew meant they weren't going to know what that little meeting was about. But to make up for it, Jason redirected their attention by talking out loud about Camulus and Anise. "So... is this new Camulus the same as the old where Anise is concerned?"

Selmak was back, looking shockingly mischievous when she spoke. "Oh no. This one's very quiet, very subdued, _except_ when he's around her. He does _not_ tolerate her presence around him, nor put up with her bullying behavior. He can't stand her and does everything he can to let her know. It has placed her off-balance, as Jacob would say, which is why it has been most entertaining, even better than the fights we witnessed before. The level of insults thrown back and forth has cured a lot of us of boredom. The only one who has not found it amusing, aside from Camulus and Anise, is Major Wagner. He is like Jalen. He finds her presence disruptive and offensive."

"Has he said so?" Jason asked, surprised. Alex was usually more diplomatic.

"No. He has, instead, tried to find excuses for Camulus and Jalen not to participate in Anise's attempted debriefings."

"Is it working?" Connor asked.

"Sort of," Jacob answered.

"He's just looking out for Jalen, that's all," Jason said, feeling the sudden need to come to Alex's defense.

"It is okay, Colonel. He has been a great help to Jalen and Camulus, there is no debating that issue. We have already told Anise that she cannot interfere with his recovery and Major Wagner is taking advantage of our decision."

Jason grinned with relief. "He's a quick study."

Selmak's eyes flashed as she shot him an encouraging look. They rounded a corner and entered another, this one much shorter. "I'd like to extend my appreciation for his training. The man has a lot of patience and good will."

"Thank you," Jason replied, catching his teammates beaming proudly. While Alex had a temper sometimes, he did have more patience than a lot of people.

Jacob moved to the right and into a large room. At a table to the far left sat Alex and Jalen. To the far right, behind the zatarc machine and next to another desk sat a scowling Anise with arms folded tightly. Jason couldn't help but like that, influenced as he was by the woman's behavior four years earlier.

Looking over at Alex, Jason felt a surge of protectiveness. But looking at Jalen, with his long hair and mustache-goatee, Jason felt the same thing he'd felt back in that room at Baal's fortress: an unsettling darkness and fear. Daniel and Jack had been right about why he felt that way. Jason didn't like the idea that he or someone like him could have lived the life he had. Jason couldn't even conceive sharing his body with a Tok'ra.

Shaking it off, he said to the both of them, "I hear you haven't been playing nice."

"That'd be her doing," Alex replied. At the sight of Jacob, he got up and shook his hand. "Good morning, sir, sleep well?"

"I did, thanks. And what about you two?"

Alex made a face. Which meant what? Jason asked himself, but he had a feeling he knew. "Nightmares?"

"Oh yeah." Behind Jacob, Al and Connor entered the room and Alex smiled broadly and went over to them, giving them each a hug. "How's things?" he asked. "Keeping an eye on our intrepid leader?"

"Which one?" Connor asked dryly, making Alex snigger when Jason shot him a mock-scowl.

Alex gently slapped Connor's arm, gesturing at them both to come over to his side of the room. "Guys, this is Jalen and Camulus." Al and Connor walked around Jason and Jacob, and finally got a good look at Jalen. He'd been sitting down, back partially to the door. But he stood up and faced them, holding out his hand.

Al and Connor shook it, gaping at him. Alex sucked in a breath and looked at the subject of their shock. "Jalen, these two idiots staring stupidly at you are really the very professional members of SG2, Al Kaufman and--"

"Connor McCaffrey. Yes, I know who they are, Alex."

Alex winced. "Right. Sorry about that."

"No, need, it's easy to forget."

"Not for you, so again, sorry."

Jalen waved away the apology as unnecessary. He was suddenly unable to look at Al and Connor and he turned away from them, taking a few steps behind the desk, one hand shading his eyes.

Alex instantly moved to him, missing the look exchanged by Jacob and Jason, and placed a hand on Jalen's shoulder. He said nothing, even though he wanted to apologize again. Jalen shook his head at him anyway, mumbling something to Alex that Jason couldn't hear, but he could guess.

He gave Al and Connor a look of warning, silently reminding them of the private briefing he'd given them about Jalen's history, not to mention reminding them about his words earlier. They didn't want to know what happened to their counterparts. It was enough to know that they'd been important to Jalen and were now dead.

Before anyone could say anything, Jalen and turned around to face them, coming forward again. "Let's try this again, shall we?"

Al stepped forward. "I'm sorry if we startled you."

"No need to apologize," Jalen answered.

"You knew us in the other universe?" Al asked.

"Obviously," Jalen said, trying to give him a smile and failing.

Connor thumbed at Jason, his gaze still on Jalen. "We almost lost his ass, three times."

Jalen nodded. "My brother was a risk-taker and a daredevil. Tried to be a hero and he succeeded." At everyone's perplexed expressions, Jalen suddenly blushed, then closed his eyes. When they opened, they flashed, and Camulus said, "What he meant was that in his opinion, heroes are only heroes when they're dead."

Unable to help it, Al and Connor flinched in shock. They sent immediate apologies to Camulus and Selmak, ignoring Anise completely. "Sorry, we forgot."

"It's okay," Camulus told them.

"Believe it or not, we get it," Jacob put in.

And they did. The sad fact was that the people of the Tau'ri had heard that resonance far more often from a Goa'uld than a Tok'ra, so it was hard not to associate that sound with the enemy.

"Still, we apologize," Al said and sent Jason an imploring look for rescue from their abysmal mistake.

"You heard the men," Jason told his teammates quietly and that was the end of that. He turned to Jalen and Alex, raising a brow at Alex and adding a specific look that pretty much said, _What the hell have you been up to?_

Alex had the grace to look abashed. "So, I take it you're here to collect me?"

Jason thinned his lips and nodded, looking sympathetically at Jalen. "Got a mission at the Beta Site. Coffee and cake run."

Alex dropped his mouth open, then clapped it shut. "But..." he started, and was going to say Jason's name till he remembered that Jacob, Al and Connor were there. "Sir, couldn't you do that without me?"

Jason was all for the empathy and help but his latitude was at an end. "Would you like to be permanently reassigned?"

Alex steeled himself against the stinging upbraid. "No, sir," was all he said to Jason before turning to Jalen. "I'll be back when I can."

"I'll be here," Jalen said, and was about to ask Jason something when the forgotten person in the room finally spoke from her invisible corner.

Standing, with a tablet and stylus in hand, Anise said, "Perhaps _now_ we can get something done."

Jalen's eyes became cold, filled with hatred as he slid them away from Jason and turned them upon Anise. His eyes flashed. "Trust me when I say that we _are_ done, Anise," Camulus told her in a voice that hinted something nasty would happen if contradicted.

"We shall see," she sniffed and walked out of the room like a child running to a parent.

Jacob rolled his eyes. "I'd better follow. If I'm right, she's heading for one of the council members." At the door, he said, "If I don't get to see you before you leave, stay safe and say hello to Sam."

"Yes, sir, but she should be here soon," Jason told him.

"I'll try to catch her," Jacob said, smiling, then lost that smile when he went after Anise.

"Foul bitch is nothing but trouble," Camulus glowered, kicking at the zatarc machine and surprising everyone but Alex, who crossed his arms and looked on in an indulgent manner.

Oddly, his action made Jason annoyed, as if Alex hadn't the right to feel anything for Jalen. Before he could dwell on it, however, Camulus turned to Al and Connor, staring at the look on their faces. While not as shocked at before, they were still a bit unnerved.

Crossing his hands behind his back in an unthreatening manner, it was Jalen who bolstered up a pained smile. "Takes a bit getting used to, I know. First time I heard one of my best friends with a Tok'ra resonance, I _freaked_."

"We didn't mean to--" Al started, gesturing at him.

Jalen held up a hand to forestall another apology. "What Jason said. No worries. Everything's copasetic." He was going to say something else but Jack appeared in the doorway, surprising him.

"Alright, who scared off Anise? I wanna give them a great big kiss."

Smirking, everyone in the room pointed at Jalen.

Backpedaling, Jack cleared his throat. "Um, would you settle for a steak?"

Jalen suddenly smiled brightly, startling Alex. "I would kill for a steak. Smuggle one over and I'll get you _anything_ , Colonel."

"Done," Jack answered, grinning. For some reason, the small, friendly exchange immediately melted any residual resistance he'd had toward the man and his symbiote.

"Jacob wants to see Sam before we set off for the beta site," Jason informed him. He expected Jack to nod and say something about making it quick. He did not expect Jack to turn to him with suddenly dark, troubled eyes. Hairs rose instantly on the back of Jason's neck. "Fuck, what is it?"

"We've been diverted." Jack paused, taking a moment to swallow, then touched Jason's shoulder. "To Diné."

Jason felt cold, then suddenly thought of Lysa, his sister, and how he'd tell her. He then wished he'd been ignorant of the dreams he'd been having, but perhaps it was better this way, having been forewarned. An ache began to take hold of his chest and behind his jaws as he fought back the emotion. "Is he...?"

"No," Jack told him, watching Jason carefully, wishing he could hold him, comfort him. "Asatay said Lin asked for you to come, that there needs to be some sort of ceremony."

Absently, Jason nodded. "For the ancestors. Probably need another liaison, too. Let me get things sorted here, let Sam see her dad, then we'll head out."

Jack nodded, and squeezed Jason's shoulder again. "I'm so sorry, Jason," he said, and pulled his lover into a hug, surprising the shit out of Al and Connor.

" _Lin_?" Jalen asked, interrupting. His eyes were wide and startled. "As in Grandfather?"

Pulling apart, Jason turned to... his twin. He realized that, for all intents and purposes, Jalen was family. It wasn't just himself and Lysa anymore and the knowledge was weirdly... calming. "Yeah, as in Grandfather." As the seconds passed, and reality set in that Lin was going to die soon, Jason felt as if a hole had opened up beneath him.

"Was he alive in your universe?" Jack asked Jalen, giving Jason a moment.

Jalen shook his head. "He died some years back, long before the alliance or the invasion. When you said Diné, you said it as if it were a planet."

Jack and Jason quickly exchanged looks. Jalen didn't know about his ancestry then. Or at least, half his ancestry. "Grandfather currently lives offworld, Jalen. On a planet we call Diné, but is more accurately called Land of the Diné. It's the relocated ancestral home of the Anasazi. Our ancestors."

Jalen frowned. "Our ancestors?"

"The Navajo, Jalen."

Jalen frowned. "Don't you mean the Apache?"

"No, I mean the Navajo. Diné's the name they use for the Nation."

"It's also an Apache word, like the Sioux have a word for themselves, pe-el-oh, meaning human, so the Apache called themselves something similar. Diné. I thought the Navajo had adopted it."

Jason shook his head. "I think it's a shared name, Jalen. We're the Navajo, ancestors of the Anasazi."

Jalen finally shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I find it interesting. Grandfather always said we were related but since there was no proof, I paid little heed. They were just stories, and anthropologists figured the Anasazi moved off when the water resources went bad and were absorbed into the Hopi and Navajo."

"They were here as well," Jason told him, "but only a portion. Seems the Asgard thought more of the Anasazi then others did and for reasons of their own, relocated a large number of them to the planet later called Diné."

"Which is what the Navajo have always called their people," Jalen said.

Jason stuck out his chin. "Our people, Jalen. And still do."

"Our people, yes, but we're half-Scottish, too, Jason."

"I know," Jason said with disgust.

Jalen scowled at him. "There's no dishonor in that, what's the matter with you?"

"Coburn isn't clan. They were nothing more than overseers, tax mongrels and spies for the English King."

Jack turned to Jason, staring at him in shock. "You never mentioned that."

"I did some homework. For that reason, I embraced my Navajo ancestry, not my Scottish."

"Maybe your great grandfather was adopted," Connor said dryly.

Jason and Jalen looked at each other as silence gripped the room, then smiled. "Maybe," Jason said.

Jack touched his elbow, trying to be polite but there was little time for it. "We gotta go."

"Right," Jason replied, then turned to Alex. "Say your goodbyes. We'll be in the community room." With a glance at Jalen, he said, "I'm sorry I didn't say it before but... you look better. I'll try to get Alex to come back here as soon as mission time allows."

Jalen nodded in understanding. "Take care of yourself. I'd ask you to say goodbye for me but... it might be a bit confusing."

Jason grinned. "I told him about parallel universes once. I think he'd be disturbed by what's happened, not confused."

"Probably," Jalen said sadly.

"I'll still tell him, providing he doesn't already know by those dreams of his."

Jalen's brow furrowed. "How did you? About him, I mean?"

Jason lifted his chin, an almost regal gesture. "Don't you have message dreams?"

Jalen didn't say yeah or nay. He looked, instead, as if the idea was troubling. "I used to, but it's been a while. I purposely cut myself off from them." With narrowed eyes, he added, "Where I came from and what I've been doing with my life, it was much better not to know."

Jason could only nod in agreement, then he turned and left the room, Jack, Al, and Connor following. "Where's Daniel?" he asked, suddenly alarmed that he hadn't noticed that Daniel wasn't there.

"With Carter and Teal'c in the Community room. A few Tok'ra stopped him to ask about those Atonique translations."

Jason sighed with relief. For a moment, he'd thought something bad had happened, then realized that Jack would've told him first, then broken the news about Lin. It seemed the news about Lin had his rational thoughts in chaos. A few minutes later, they were back in the large Community room, and on seeing Daniel, Jason didn't stand on protocol or ceremony. He went straight for him.

Daniel turned from Hen'ral, one of the Tok'ra scientists, and met Jason halfway. Jason stopped, abruptly, his eyes starting to mist, and Daniel frowned at him and gathered him in a hug.

"Don't mist up, Jace. What will people think?" he joked. Pulling away, he met Jack's eyes as he joined them, patting Jason on the back.

"We'll wait on Carter, then go."

"Right," Jason said. Fifteen minutes later, Alex appeared, looking solemn. "He okay?"

"Yeah, he's okay."

" _You_ okay?"

Alex grinned. "Stop worrying."

"Yeah, that'll happen," Jason said, and on the heels of his words, Sam appeared.

"Ready to go, Carter?" Jack asked, smirking at Jacob.

She looked at her father, then Jack. "Yes, sir, but I'd like to come back, do some proper research on the technology."

"Weapons?" Jack asked Jacob hopefully.

"Don't know yet, but it's important enough to find out," Jacob replied. "I'll have a chat with George, get Sam cleared to come visit for two weeks."

"Two?" Jack asked, brows rising in surprise.

"They won't let it out of their sight, sir. So, yes, two weeks."

"Then I guess we'll be back."

Sam gave her dad a hug and as they departed, Alex hung back, looking over his shoulder. At the last second, Jalen appeared in the community room. Alex gave him a wave and felt better when Jalen waved back.

When Jack gave him a curious look, Alex said, "He said he wasn't going to say goodbye."

"Guess he changed his mind," Jason commented, thinking that Jalen had just done what he would have.

**~**

Exiting the wormhole, Jason blew out a breath to shake off the cold. The familiar platform and terrain sent chills up his spine and he tried to shake that off as well. The last time he'd been here, it had been under depressing circumstances. It was beginning to be a habit and he didn't like it.

"You okay?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah, fine."

"Nervous, probably?"

"Understatement of the year," Jason replied. The group walked down the steps and headed over the scrub grass toward the high-walled cliffside that bordered and eventually led to the Diné home.

"What're we going to be doing here?" Connor asked as they drew closer to the cliffface.

Jason sighed. "Honestly? I have no idea."

"None?" Connor asked.

"Well, we'll probably hang around for a few days and you'll get to brush up on your anthropology."

Connor nodded, trying to contain his excitement. "Don't know if I should, though. Enjoying anything with tragedy in the air feels wrong."

"Connor," Jason chided. "How can you say that after all those Irish wakes?"

Looking suddenly sheepish, Connor grinned. "You have a point."

"Good man," Jason said and slapped him on the shoulder. "Lin would tell you that death is a part of life, and while we mourn, we also celebrate. The Diné won't mind, Connor."

Up ahead, Jack slowed down and waited for Jason and Connor to catch up. "Any idea what the ceremony will be?" he asked.

"What, is there an echo in here?" Jason asked rhetorically. "As I told Connor, I really don't know, Jack. I _think_ I have an idea, but I'm not sure, so," Jason said. He really didn't know for certain, but he had an idea, something from his dream having directed it.

"And the idea is?" Daniel asked.

Jason's men had caught up with SG-1, and were now to Jason's right with SG1 on his left. They walked in a single line and Jason bent his head forward, glancing at Sam and Teal'c, both of whom looked very nervous. "It won't be what happened last time, I'll tell you that right now."

"What happened last time?" Al asked.

"Getting stoned and having a dreamscape," Jason smirked, "and that's all you're gonna know about it."

Al groaned. "I'll toss my breakfast, sir. I'm a lightweight on drugs, remember? I'll sit it out if I'm required to eat or drink or smoke any hallucinogen."

"Don't worry, Al, you probably won't. Funeral rites are family-centered. If anyone gets stoned, it'll be me," Jason told him.

"What will that entail?" Teal'c asked.

"I'm not sure, Teal'c. It'll probably be something the military won't like never mind give their permission for. But since this ceremony falls under religious freedom, they can't throw the reg book at me."

Jack frowned, hand on Jason's arm as he paused and forced them all to stop. "I thought you said it was a simple lodge ceremony?"

"I didn't say that," Jason said, glancing not just at Jack but everyone else. "It _might_ require that I get tattooed with my tribal totem."

"Oy," Jack said turning around in a circle, rubbing his eyes. Looking back at Jason, he asked, "Daniel was one thing. He's civilian." He sighed, knowing this was going to be inevitable and arguing with Jason, or the Diné, would be a waste of time. "At least promise me that it won't be on a part of the body that's visible?"

"It'll be covered by my uniform, Jack, so don't worry," Jason replied, gesturing ahead of them to continue on toward the bend in the cliffside.

"So," Daniel said, brows up, expression trying not to reveal much but Jason could see the curiosity--never mind the idea of Jason getting a tattoo.

"So?" Jason automatically echoed.

Daniel knew the tattoo ceremonies on other worlds were different. His own certainly was, considering that the ink used on his back had been a staining ink, not a branding one made by a needle. "How're they going to do this?"

Jason shrugged. "Again, I have no idea. Asatay has tattoos but I never asked how he got them." A double-take at Al and Connor's rapt attention forced him to explain. "He had designs on his lower back."

"And you know because...?" Connor asked.

"Because I spent time with him for four months, remember? I've seen him without his clothes on. Twice. And before you get your knickers in a knot, both times were for ceremonial reasons. And no, you're not getting any further details on that." Judging by the looks on their faces, they weren't going to ask, but they looked as surprised as Jack and Daniel, even with the recent knowledge about Jason's sexuality.

Jack stared at Jason, stopping again. "You told them?"

"I had to."

When Al noticed that neither Sam nor Teal'c acted surprised, he got a little annoyed. "Major Carter and Teal'c know?"

"They've known for a long time, and I won't explain how. I didn't tell you because..." He let out an angry breath. "Well, you know why. What's the reg, gentlemen?"

"But you told Major Carter?" Connor asked.

"No, I figured it out," Sam answered. "I can appreciate that you feel left out, but this is one time where you shouldn't. It's information that can get him court martialed." At the betrayed looks on Al and Connor's faces, Sam moved over to them as their walk continued. "How many people react favorably when they're told someone they know is gay, never mind a superior officer?"

Al and Connor had the appropriate looks of doom. "Exactly," she said. "No matter how well you got along, you don't really know a person until you're told something deeply personal, like sexual preference. It so happens that the base has a lot of gays and bisexuals, but they're not going to come out of the closet because they _can't_. What's that tell you?"

"Okay, Major, I see your point," Al said, calming down, mostly because he didn't want a lecture from her, too. Jason's had been enough.

"Connor?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I get it." He and Al exchanged looks, then gave Jason an apologetic nod. "Sorry, sir."

Jason abruptly stopped once more. "Listen up. I am damn lucky to have you three. I couldn't get through any of this bad shit that happens without you. I have my best friends," and he waved at Daniel and Jack, "and my friendship with Sam and Teal'c, but you guys are my 'mates. We shed blood together, we look after each other. I can't have that compromised. I was afraid to tell you because I didn't want to lose you. Now that you know, and don't hate or fear me, you have no idea how good and proud that makes me feel."

"As if we'd hate or fear you," Al told him sharply. "It's for you, not at you. How long have we been worrying for you?"

Jason sighed. "You're like a couple of old aunts, I swear." He grinned at the annoyed looks on their faces. "That reg kept you from asking, just as it kept me from telling, but it was fear more than anything, so I appreciate this even more, comprende?"

"Comprende," Connor replied.

They started walking again, thoughts of the ceremony back on their minds. And Lin's impending demise.

"What else comprises this ceremony?" Teal'c asked, hoping it wasn't going to be like the last time he'd been here. He needed no more revelations for a while.

"Probably a spiritual dreaming, like before," Jason answered slowly. When Teal'c actually looked panicked, Jason quickly added, "For me, Teal'c, not you. This time, I'm the only one going on a trip through Wonderland."

A shiver caught up his back as he remembered the dreamscape he'd had during that last ceremony. A crow had appeared, squawking up a storm. But... in thinking about it over the last couple of years, Jason now realized that the bird had been hawk-sized, which made it a raven. The bird of magic, sorcery, dreams. Portents and omens.

He mulled over the most recent dream he'd had as they rounded the cliffside and approached the waiting throng of greeters. Jack laid a hand on his shoulder, his brow furrowed with curiosity and worry.

"What's wrong?" Daniel's face mirrored the question.

"Just thinking about the dreams," Jason told them vaguely as he approached Asatay, grasping his forearm in greeting.

The tall shaman's hair was flowing freely from its usual silver neck clasp, and the long strands framing his face were now adorned with colored beads and leather ties. New swirling designs, made of ink presumably, decorated his hands, curling around the base of his index and ring fingers and meeting over the backs of his hands in a circular pattern. Instead of the colorful cloth he usually wore, he was dressed in a sleeveless leather jerkin and darker leather breeches. His feet were bare, but like his fingers, his toes were painted with black designs.

"Been decorating, I see," Jason joked.

Meeting the warmth, Asatay nodded. "Preparation. My apologies for the sad need of this reunion."

"No apologies necessary," Jason greeted back, and gestured to his left. "You know Jack, Daniel, Sam, Teal'c. And these are my teammates, Alex, Al, and Connor."

"Of course," Asatay bowed and received one each in kind. "This way," he said, gesturing behind him, but not at the entrance to the large cave dwelling within the circular cliff but at the outer dwellings. Jason had expected this and had told everyone to be prepared. They were led to a large stucco-plastered hogan that sat in the place of the one Jason and SG-1 had last seen and used. Smoke billowed up from its six-sided center and the scent on the breeze smelled faintly like pine.

"That's new," Jason said. "For the passing ceremony?" Asatay nodded and the group followed him. Stopping at the east-facing door, Asatay gestured at two smaller hogans to their north and rested his gaze on Jack. "Those are for you. Jason must meet with Lin alone and must remain alone for the next few hours."

Jack wanted to argue but didn't. "And we'll be doing what?"

"The moment you stepped through the gate, your part in the ceremony began. The first part was to escort Jason to his hogan. You are to then change into ritual clothes and wait in your assigned hogans till called to complete the passing. Please forgive me for saying so, but you are considered outsiders and the council requires that you undergo purification before being granted access to Lin's mandala."

Jack assessed Asatay's expression, and when finished, motioned at the large hogan. "This hogan is his mandala, is that what you're saying?"

"Yes," Asatay nodded, pleased that Jack understood. "You may cross its threshold after he has passed. For now, this is a time for Jason and Lin to share knowledge. I will conduct their own purification."

Jason grinned at the man's improved English. "Lin's taught you well." Asatay bowed his head in thanks.

"The smoke purification is for...?" Daniel asked.

Asatay inclined his head, eyes unfocused in the direction of the hogan. "Preparation of his body and mind for the totem rite."

"I didn't think it would be this soon," Jason said, looking at the hogan. He took a step toward it, then turned back to everyone. "I guess I'll see you when I see you." They nodded in return, though they looked rather startled. Jason added quickly, softening the mood. "Don't worry. Just don't be surprised by anything you see."

"If you get a tattoo, what kind will it be?" Connor asked.

"Remember those fish figures you saw on the smoked salmon boxes from the Northwest?"

Connor remembered the Chinook design. "Something like that?"

"Yeah, sort of. It'll probably be a raven." He looked at Asatay for confirmation and the man nodded once, then gestured at two tall women waiting by the smaller hogans, dressed and decorated exactly like Asatay. "Shalla and Coral will see to your two groups and show you what you need for your parts in the ceremony."

Taking the hint, SG1 and Jason's teammates moved toward the women, each having come forward to lead them silently to their assigned hogans. Jason reluctantly turned for his grandfather's hogan, but he paused at the threshold, looking back. A combination of relief and love flooded him when he saw that Jack, Daniel, and Alex had remained outside their hogans, watching him till the last minute. Jason nodded at them with a confidence he didn't feel, then disappeared inside.

**. . .**

Jack swallowed against the lump in his throat, wishing he could have walked over and kissed Jason, taking away the apprehension he could see in his eyes. While this wasn't anything physically dangerous, Jack couldn't shake the feeling that spiritually, there'd be a change in Jason after this. He took a breath and gestured at Alex to go inside while he placed his hand at the small of Daniel's back and followed him inside their own hogan.

"Lin taught little," said the woman before them. "I am Shalla," and she placed her left hand over her chest.

"Do you understand what we're saying?" Daniel asked.

She shook her head and instead moved to a squat shelf with a handful of folded white clothing that reminded Daniel of Egyptian cotton. "You," she said, handing the entire bundle to Jack, then gestured at the central fire and the flat square cushions. She mimed eating and drinking, then said, "I return." She bowed and left.

"Not much on small talk is she?" Jack quipped rhetorically as he looked over the bundle, then separated the clothing and handed them out. When he came to the thinnest set, he grinned and handed it to Sam. "Obviously, these are yours."

"Not much on clothing, either," Sam said as she took the two pieces she had and held them up in front of her. One was a sleeveless tunic, the other, loosely fitting slacks.

"There is something in the fire," Teal'c said, eyebrow cocked, as he moved to it, sniffing the light smoke. It was then that the others smelled it, too.

"Smells like pot," Jack said as he dropped his clothes and took off his gear. As he began to strip, he noticed Sam hesitating. Rolling his eyes, he said, "Carter, we've all been here before."

"Yeah, but it's been a while, sir." She made a face as she tossed her field vest on the floor next to the cushion seat she planned to use. "Just the same, I'm keeping my underwear on unless they say otherwise."

Daniel paused in the act of removing his boots. "Uh, Sam, this is a cleansing ceremony, which means we wear nothing else but these clothes."

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine. But you three turn away."

Teal'c's brow rose. "I too have seen it before."

"Yeah, I know, but not now, so..." and she made a shooing gesture.

With a grin, Teal'c turned away. The exchange left Daniel hoping that they'd already come to some sort of understanding. He glanced at Jack with admiration as they stripped down and pulled on the clothes. "You look good in white," he said softly.

Jack grinned without looking at him. Instead, he smoothed down his front and looked himself over. "Not bad." When he looked up, he froze for a moment, then reached out and squeezed Daniel's right bicep. "Nice," he said, achieving success as Daniel's eyes darkened somewhat. "Think we can take these home?"

"We'd never wear them," Daniel remarked softly, then chastised himself for his interest when he realized that the linen left _nothing_ to the imagination where sexual endowment was concerned. "Jack, don't start," he said, clearing his throat meaningfully.

"What?" Jack asked, momentarily confused, then following Daniel's line of sight, he cringed. "Gotcha."

Pointedly ignoring him, Daniel asked, "Sam, you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready."

They turned and found her sitting on one of the pillows that made a square around the fire. She was watching them with a satisfied smile on her face. As the three men exchanged looks, she asked innocently, "What?"

"You looked," Jack leered.

"Peripherally, not directly," Sam admitted with a casual smugness.

"Then what's with the smirk?" Jack asked.

"You three look really good in those," she said, not hiding her admiring gaze.

Daniel cleared his throat as he caught sight of the substantial package that filled out the crotch of Teal'c's slacks. "Especially some of us," he said, sitting down to her left and crossing his legs. Jack and Teal'c did the same, with Jack sitting across from her and Teal'c to her right.

Sam reached down and picked up one of the slices of fruit that sat in a prepared dish and munched on it, vowing to herself that she'd never tell them that she'd seen everything. She felt a slight pang of regret that both Jack and Daniel were spoken for, but the more she thought on it, she knew there was nothing sexual there, at least nothing comfortable.

She'd be blind not to be attracted to them, but sexually aroused was another thing entirely. Besides, there were other fine fish in the sea. While Teal'c was one of them, he simply wasn't what she needed anymore. The pang of regret increased.

**. . .**

Just as Shalla had done, Coral gave Jason's men clothing and gestured at the pillows and the food before departing. Reluctantly changing into the linen clothes provided, the men sat down.

Alex fidgeted with his pillow, his thoughts on Jason, knowing that he was needlessly worrying about him. The one thing that bothered Alex was just how much of a stink their superiors might make over Jason's tattoo. While this was being done for religious purposes, Alex worried that the family ties might overshadow the needed ceremony. Maybe the herbs the Diné grew and traded to the SGC would make the bosses turn a blind eye. Or so Alex hoped.

"I have to admit, I'm a little jealous," Connor said.

"Why?" Alex asked.

"Jason's getting a tattoo the legal way."

"Well, there's talk that the regulation be removed," Al put in, "but I don't know how reliable the talk is."

"Until it's either deregulated or gotten rid of," Alex told them, "we're screwed. Only the Navy and Marines get their tats."

"So unfair," Connor complained.

"No argument here," Alex told him.

"What did he say it was?" Al mused, furrowing his thick black brows together, thinking of what Jason said. "A bird?"

"A raven," Alex added.

"Why?" Al and Connor asked, voices slightly off-set. They glanced at each other, smirking.

Alex stared at them in disbelief, then realized that Jason never told them about his dreams. "Because Jason has ravens in his dreams. He says they're his totem animal."

"Okay, but that doesn't explain why that'd be his tattoo."

Alex couldn't answer that. "Well, there you got me 'cause I have no idea, either. He said he's been dreaming of them for a while now and I've learned that sometimes a totem is an animal that consistently visits your dreams."

"Did he say what the dreams were about exactly?" Connor asked.

Alex grimaced a bit. "Death."

"Death?" Al and Connor echoed. This time, there was no smirking.

"He wouldn't elaborate. He only said he knew something was going to happen with his grandfather and that there was something else going on but he couldn't pin it down."

"That's fucking spooky," Connor said, making an obvious shiver as he brought one knee up to his chest, clasping his hands over the shin. "But then, he's always been like that." The others nodded and they went silent for a few minutes, thinking over what the next day might be like and what their roles, if any, would be in the ceremony later on.

But as they thought things over, Connor's thoughts kept returning to what Jason had confided. He wondered if Alex knew, and thinking about it, Alex had to.

"Alex," he began, dropping formality and protocol.

Alex looked at him, slightly surprised. "Connor?"

"Has Jason talked to you?" he asked with a deep breath.

Puzzled, Alex asked, "About?" When Al and Connor exchanged looks, Alex started getting an uncomfortable feeling.

"Jason told us," Connor said quickly.

Alex gave him an angry, _Told you what?_ look.

"That he's gay," Connor finished, his expression clearly daring Alex to contradict him.

Alex stared at them both unblinkingly, unable to keep from feeling resentful. Jason had said he would tell them, but Alex had thought that maybe he'd wait, have him there with him. Apparently Jason had thought otherwise. Alex's resentment started to build till he remembered that if he hadn't been spending so much time with Jalen, he probably would have been there for him. Guilt replaced the resentment rather quickly, and trying to push it aside, he focused instead on why his teammates felt the need to bring it up.

"And you're bringing this up because?"

"We wanted to talk about it, actually," Al admitted, looking at Alex carefully. "So you know then?"

Alex sighed. "Obviously, Al. Jason said he'd tell you. When was that?"

"Two weeks ago," Connor said.

Alex made a face. "I should've been there."

"You seem disappointed. Do you think he shouldn't have told us?" Connor asked indignantly.

Alex stared hard at him. "Frankly, I didn't think you needed to know."

Al and Connor's mouths dropped open. "What?" Al sputtered. "We have a right to--"

"No you don't. Jason told you because of what happened to us, and you had a right to know because of that, not because he's gay."

"That's not fair," Connor said angrily. "We already had our suspicions a long time ago and we never said anything because of the regs. That he told us at all tells me that he trusts us. Don't you?"

Not entirely offended, Alex ground his jaw and pushed off the floor, not answering him. He knew their backgrounds, the prejudices and illogical hatreds they were raised with. What he'd been raised with.

"Alex, I didn't mean anything," Connor said, getting up and going over to him, trying to take the sting out of his words.

Alex folded his arms, turning away from him. "Doesn't matter."

"What are you getting upset for?" Al asked as he joined them, anger showing in his voice.

Staring at nothing in particular, Alex thought of the first time he'd kissed Jason, and denied feeling anything because he'd been too scared to admit his feelings. He wasn't gay, he wasn't bisexual. He just had those dreams, that's all. They were reactions from stress, they didn't _mean_ anything.

Except they did. Alex knew exactly what Al and Connor were feeling and likely thinking and no matter how nice they acted, he knew they weren't happy. Jason wasn't one of the 'normal' guys anymore. And neither was he, and no matter how much he wanted to trust Al and Connor, he didn't think he could tolerate seeing that alienating look on their faces. The look of disappointment and betrayal. Still, he had to give them something to think about.

"Ten years ago, I had this best friend named Earl. We were best buds, did everything together, including trolling for chicks." He turned and faced his teammates. "Then one night, we got drunk and he told me that he'd broken up with his girlfriend. Or rather, she'd broken up with him. And the reason was because he wouldn't have sex with her. He couldn't tell her that it was because he was gay, that he couldn't get it up for her. He'd tried, tried very hard, to play 'straight' with me, but in the end, he was tired of pretending, of keeping something so important from me, his _best friend_."

Alex paused, looking down at the floor at their feet, unconsciously tightening his crossed arms in a protective gesture. "I tried to be understanding, but I was thrown. I didn't get why he liked guys and I started making excuses not to be with him anymore because I kept thinking he was looking at me when we were in the showers, that he'd come touch me, unasked." Alex deliberately looked into his teammates' eyes.

"I treated my best friend like shit because I felt like he'd betrayed me. But the thing is, he hadn't. He'd opened up to me, confided in me, and I broke his trust in me by turning my back on him. I never told anyone, never once thought of getting him in trouble, or being responsible for some bashers' hatred, but what I did wasn't that far off. I broke his heart when I turned away from him."

"Why are you telling us this?" Al asked with shock. "You don't seriously expect us to do the same, do you?"

"We won't, you know," Connor added. "Jason's talked to us, went a little preachy, too, so don't you dare start in on us. We're not ignorant pricks. We've been through a lot, understand a lot more than we would have without having Jason as our C.O. We owe him, and it's why we came back. We missed him, missed the job, even though we had a feeling he was gay. It doesn't matter to us, Alex, and I think you're being a bit too hard on us."

"Am I?" Alex asked, knowing damn well he was but he didn't care. "You should have just said what was on your mind, not toyed with me by asking me if Jason had talked to me."

"Okay, you gotta point," Connor admitted. "What I wanted to know was how long you've known?"

Alex wondered how much of the truth he could tell without giving himself away. Clearing his throat, he said, "The second day at Adriann's, after we met him and his people."

As expected, Al and Connor barked out noises of surprise. "What?" Connor asked.

"Did he tell you or did you find out?" Al asked.

How could Alex tell them that he'd found out because of his dream, because Jason had come to him? Technically, that had been when he'd found out. He hadn't really let it sink in till he'd watched Jason and Daniel from his hiding place behind the wall. He'd come so hard from watching them that Alex had figured it had to have been a turning point for him.

"I... saw him with someone, and then told him what I saw. I can't tell you anything else because I can't betray a confidence, regardless of your knowing he's gay." When they nodded their acceptance, though with obvious disappointment, Alex hoped that'd be the end of it, but their fidgeting body language and expressions said it wasn't.

Al and Connor exchanged a long look, then Connor looked Alex in the eyes and said, "Alex... we don't wanna sound... offensive or presumptuous but we were wondering..."

"Spit it out," Alex said, dread filling him.

"You've been spending a lot of time with Jalen," Connor said slowly, clearing his throat. "We know he's gay, Alex. We can't help but wonder..." He left off the rest of what he was going to say, blushing furiously because he hoped he wasn't making an ass out of himself.

Alex closed his eyes, turning away, that dread becoming like lead inside him. They were suspecting him, they'd hate him, no matter what they said, how much they liked Jason, they'd treat him differently. They always did, men like Al and Connor. To your face, they'd say all the right things, but the moment your back was turned...

Alex didn't want to believe that Al and Connor were capable of backstabbing, but he couldn't bring himself to take the risk. And he didn't like lying to them, either, but he had to. Barely looking over his shoulder, he said, "He asked for my company, that's all, to help him through his time with the Tok'ra." Before they could respond, he went to the door. "I need some air," he said, and left the hogan.

"But we're supposed to wait here," Al called after him.

"Alex, come back," Connor said.

Alex ignored them. He headed for the flat scrubland and toward the boulders that were scattered past the village. His heart pounded wildly and he needed time to think.

"Well we fucked that up royally," Al grumbled.

"We sure did," Connor mused. "But what I wanna know is, is he mad because he thinks we'll hate him if he's gay, or is he mad because he thinks the very idea of being gay is offensive?"

"Connor, for Jason's sake, I hope to fuck it's the first one, because if it's the latter, we're in for some seriously choppy waters."

"We'd have to tell Jason."

"And Jason would have his ass," Al finished, then met Connor's grinning face and started to laugh at his own pun. "Er, so to speak."

**. . .**

With a tight chest, Jason entered the hogan and found a few of the Elders seated parallel beside his grandfather. Lin lay in front of them, beside the central fire, cushioned on a thick pallet of blankets that Jason recognized as old Navajo weave. His hands were linked together over his stomach, his face an expression of peace as if nothing were wrong and he was preparing for a dreamscape.

There was a moment of panic when Jason thought he'd been too late, but when he saw his grandfather's chest rise and fall, relief surged through him. The Elders spoke a few murmured words, then stood and approached him. One Elder handed Jason some garments, then all four bowed and left him alone.

Jason had only a vague idea what to do. First and foremost was the obvious. Change clothes. He silently set down his weapon, then removed his clothing. The garments were cotton and the color a reddish-brown, almost maroon. To Jason's annoyance, he was reminded of the color of dried blood.

He put on the sleeveless tunic and loose-fitting slacks and moved over to where the Elders had been sitting. It was then Jason realized that Lin wasn't just lying on blankets but that underneath those was a large, rectangular sand painting. He could make out the classic Navajo designs but the central image was covered by Lin's body. It seemed to Jason to be a thunderbird.

He sat down cross-legged at Lin's side, by his right shoulder, and took several breaths to calm himself. On a small straw mat behind him sat a mug and clay pot filled with water. Jason filled the mug with water, drank, then set it back on the mat. Staring back down at Lin, he couldn't get over how old his grandfather looked. While he wasn't surprised, it was dismaying.

Not wanting to bother him, Jason remained still and quiet and stared into the fire. A few minutes later, he happened to look down and was somewhat startled to find his grandfather staring up at him.

Lin raised his hand to touch Jason's chest. "You look weary and troubled, Kit."

A tear fell from Jason's eye as he laughed and immediately copied what Jack would say. "Ya think?" he asked, looking down at the hand on his chest and covering it with his own.

"I think," Lin echoed. His voice was gravelly, tired, and Jason recognized the pain that Lin was fighting. Something was killing him and Jason wanted to stop it.

"Grandfather, I could--"

Lin cut him off as he reached up to cup Jason's face, peering intently into his eyes. "I don't have much time. I am sorry, Kit. I should have called for you earlier."

More tears fell from Jason's eyes as he whispered, "Please don't leave me."

Lin smiled indulgently. "Shhhh, selfish boy."

Jason laughed sadly, rolling his eyes. "Sue me. I want you here."

Lin brushed away some of the wetness on Jason's cheek. "We are both so stubborn," he coughed. "It is the way of things. You cannot change what has to be." Jason opened his mouth to interrupt but Lin covered his mouth with his fingers. "Shhhh, time to stop arguing with your grandfather, little black bird."

Jason blinked at him. "What did you say?"

Lin grinned at him. "It suits you," he said, then shuddered.

"Grandfather?" Jason panicked, voice rising.

Lin opened his eyes. "You trust Asatay, yes?"

Jason laughed again, sniffing away the tears that kept falling. "I was bonded to him, Grandfather."

Lin smiled weakly, then took Jason's hand in a deceptively strong grip. "I will always be with you. The great father left me blessed and I have been lucky to have been able to end my days here. I want to pass my gifts to you, and you must do what you can."

Jason shook his head, confused. "Grandfather, I can't, I have duties and obligations with--"

"Yes, yes, protecting Earth," Lin coughed, "and it is a noble obligation, but that is not what I mean. Asatay will be a worthy replacement for me. What I am speaking of is passing on the knowledge given to me by my ancestors, which I must now give to you."

"Oh," Jason whispered, understanding. "The spirit ceremony. I dreamt about it."

"I know," Lin told him, releasing his hand, and pointed to a wooden tray filled with dried resin. "In the fire," he said. Jason reached over to the tray that sat between Lin and the fire and took a large pinch of the dried, sticky herb. He tossed it into the fire in front of them and a violet and orange smoke puffed from the heat and flames. Jason coughed from the pungent fumes and waved it out of his face.

"Damn, grandfather, what the hell is that?"

"Breathe," Lin said, voice flattened, as if in trance.

Jason complied, and automatically began coughing. "God," he gasped. "What _is_ that?"

"The guide to the dream time. Kit, soon you will call for your husbands."

Jason's head felt dizzy but he didn't mistake those words. "My..." Fresh tears sprang up before he registered they were there, still too stunned. While Lin had never spoken badly of his sexuality, Jason had always had the sense that he'd never approved. Just like with his choice of career.

Lin made a tsking sound and groped for Jason's left hand, grasping his pinky. And the ring there. "Would I have made these if I had not approved?"

Jason sniffed back his clogging sinus and tried to smile. "No, you wouldn't."

"Have faith in your elders, Kit."

"I have faith in you, grandfather, and one other elder. No more have earned it."

Lin laughed, but it quickly turned into a wheezy cough and Jason rubbed his chest as if that would soothe him. "You doubt me yet you have faith?" he asked gruffly.

"I'm sorry--" Jason began but Lin let go of his hand and placed it on his heart.

"I know it was hard for you, Kit."

Those few words were a balm. They'd never _really_ talked about it. Why now? Jason asked himself with deep regret. "Being gay is who I am, grandfather. I couldn't have been anything else." The implication was there. He'd never shown he approved.

"And you need my approval for this?" Lin said, irritation in his voice despite its weakness.

Jason argued with himself, then admitted, "I always wanted it, even if I didn't think I needed it."

"I approve that you are who you are without reservation. I could not be more proud of you."

"Even as a member of the military?" Jason asked, brow arched.

Lin smiled, finding it funny. "It is ironic that the thing I hated in your life brought me here."

Jason said nothing, but he mirrored his grandfather's ironic smile.

"No doubts have I," Lin said. "True to yourself you are."

Jason couldn't help it and laughed outright.

"This is funny?" Lin asked, his own brow arching.

"You sound like Yoda."

Making Jason laugh further, and more like the little boy he used to be, Lin mimicked the little green character. "Much like him do I sound?"

"Much," Jason replied.

Lin's next words turned to the past, the tone laced with the worry of a parent. "You lost a few fights."

Jason knew what he meant, referring to the fights he'd had in his teens. A few had been about the usual bully hierarchy, others because he hadn't bothered hiding he was gay. "Only two."

"Yes, only two. Took five of them to take you down."

Jason grimaced at the memories, telling himself that it was wrong to hold on to revenge. But those beatings long ago still burned bright. If they'd been ordinary bullies, Jason could have dismissed them and let them go, but a gay bashing he couldn't forgive. He knew he should let it go, be the better man, but it wasn't who he was. Jason simply did not have what it took to forgive people like that. That was more Daniel's strength.

"Thinking about it will poison your mind," Lin suddenly warned.

"Too late for that, grandfather," Jason said with a sad smile.

Lin read the words for the meaning they encompassed. "You're a crusader, Kit. Be more careful."

"I'm 43, grandfather," Jason answered with a grin. "I think I've learned to be careful." Other memories surfaced then, of times his grandfather had patched up his bloody cuts or rubbed herbal salves over bruised ribs. Jason's smile faded. "I'm glad it was you who saw those things, not mom or dad."

"They would have done the same," Lin told him.

"I don't know," Jason sighed.

"Faith, Kit," Lin admonished gently.

"I'm trying, grandfather."

Lin suddenly wheezed into a coughing spasm and Jason rubbed his chest again. "I wish you'd let me bring Dr. Fraiser here. She might be able to--"

"It's nothing she can fix, Kit. There is cancer within, somewhere."

Jason's eyes widened. "But... but you never said--why didn't you tell me, dammit? I could get a Tok'ra healing device, Sam could--"

"Shhh," Lin said, reaching up again to stifle his words. "No, Kit. I'm tired. It's time for me to go." Jason gave him a pained, argumentative look. "And you have to let me go." Jason thought he'd been prepared, but he shook his head, refusing the inevitable. "Listen to me," Lin said, his hawk-like gaze piercing into Jason's, as if peering into his soul.

"I am so proud of you, as a man, as my grandson. You have chosen good partners, Kit. I leave you knowing they will always be there for you." He suddenly wheezed and gripped Jason's hand again, the one dirty from the resin. Grit rubbed between them and Jason couldn't help comparing it to a blessing.

"Call them," Lin said, voice growing faint. As if on cue, an elder entered, nodded, and left again.

Jason didn't even notice. He grew dizzy again and only marginally recognized that the trance had begun. "Grandfather..."

"Shhhh," Lin said, coughing once. "It is time to dream."

**. . .**

Daniel suddenly looked at Jack in alarm as he felt Jason's anguish. Though his link was less strong, Jack felt it too. As one, they rose and stared at the door.

"What's goin' on?" Sam asked, alarmed by their behavior.

"Something has transpired," Teal'c said, getting to his feet and pulling her up.

Shalla appeared in the doorway. "Daniel and Jack please," she said, voice thick with accent.

"Not us, too?" Sam asked.

"No, stay," Shalla said and gestured hurriedly to Jack and Daniel. With a backward look at Sam and Teal'c, they followed the woman out of the hogan.

**. . .**

"I'm not leaving," Jason whispered, fighting the trance. Without giving a damn, he bent over and slid his arms around his grandfather, dropping his head to his chest like he used to do when he was a little boy. Before his parents had died.

Lin stroked his hair, then whispered, "My little boy. Remember. Raven will wear you if you let it."

Jason frowned and raised his head in alarm. "What?" Smoke swirled around them like mist and Jason felt himself sway. He fought for control but Lin's voice told him to let go. Jason still resisted, but eventually, he had no choice but to obey. The smoke's effects made sure of it.

Asatay entered the hogan, dressed only in shaman's breeches with his darkly tanned skin painted in stripes that ran from his jawline down the length of his arms. Behind him were two young men, dressed as he was, carrying bowls and knives made of bone. At least, Jason thought they were knives.

The only thing Jason was sure of was that everything he saw became fuzzy dream images. He was no longer sure what was real and what wasn't. In the back of his mind, he knew he wasn't completely conscious any more. The smoke from the resin was doing its job. Jason refocused on his grandfather, wanting more from him, for him to suddenly and miraculously stand and say it wasn't his time yet. He was so rapt on his wishes, his gaze on his grandfather, that he jumped when he heard the throaty call of a raven. He wondered where it came from and said, "Who are you?"

His answer never came. Instead, hands were suddenly touching him, removing his tunic, baring his chest, and Jason wasn't sure if that was real, either. His grandfather's voice suddenly asked, _"Does it matter?"_ but it seemed to come from inside Jason's mind. Mentally, as if talking to himself, Jason answered that he didn't know. He was going to question this whole mental exchange just as something both icy and burning touched his left shoulder and pectoral muscle. His logical mind said it was only wet cloth, but still, he shuddered and flinched, wanting to tell whoever it was, "Not now, go away," but he couldn't speak.

His grandfather's voice spoke to him again, keeping him both focused and distracted.

_"All will be well,"_ Lin said, and Jason _felt_ his hand once more cupping his cheek. _"Receive my knowledge and use it well, my beloved one, my raven child."_

_"But my name is Little River Fox, Grandfather,"_ Jason reminded him.

_"But it is Raven that calls you now and you know this."_

_"Yes,"_ Jason answered. _"I know."_

Lin's palm moved to Jason's forehead and pressed on the third eye chakra. The skin felt as if burned and Jason sucked in a breath as both cold and hot flashes rush over his body. Just as abruptly, Lin dropped his hand down over Jason's heart and whispered words Jason couldn't understand. They were too faint, too unfamiliar. Still, it didn't matter and Jason whispered, "I love you, Grandfather."

It was then that the dream came to him once more. It seemed more real than it ever had but instead of a mist of fog and the bird's call, he stood in an empty corridor at the SGC and a few feet before him was a raven. "What is it?" he asked and the black bird made a throaty croak, following it with several clicks of its beak.

Without warning, it flew off and somehow, Jason flew behind it. _He_ was now a raven. They flew down the empty corridor and veered into another that was far from empty. As if by a mad painter using a large brush, the walls and floor were marked with wide swaths of dark, thick blood. The sweet, metallic tang of it filled his nostrils and Jason back-winged, then dropped from the air, onto his belly, knocking the wind out of himself as he became human again.

"What's going on?" he choked. Materializing out of thin air came a few uniformed men and women, dead. Their bodies were scattered, eyes staring with frightened looks on their faces; their throats had been slit.

Jason cried out, heart wrenching. One of the slain was Alex, but he wasn't exactly dead. He reached out for Jason. "Beware of him, Jason. Beware."

Jason knelt down and tried to stop the bleeding, but blood poured from Alex's throat, staining Jason's hands and clothes. Behind him, the raven croaked, as if in equal warning, and Jason looked up. Down the corridor stood Jack and Daniel, waving at him, as if in farewell. "No!" Jason screamed, launching forward and slipping in the blood. "No!"

A burning touched his skin and Jason's left fist went to his chest to try to ease the ache he knew wouldn't go away. Yet somehow, doing so allowed him to stand and as he stumbled toward Jack and Daniel, he heard his grandfather's voice. _"Listen to your feelings, Kit."_

"I always have, Grandfather," Jason replied, turning toward the voice. The blood was gone, the bodies were gone, and there was nothing but the raven in the mist that now filled the SGC.

_"Listen and remember,"_ Lin's voice whispered. _"My powers will always be with you."_

"Powers?" Jason frowned. "What are you talking about, Grandfather?"

_"Goodbye, Little River Fox."_

Jason reached out into the fog, as if to grab and hold on, but there was nothing for him to grab on _to_. "Goodbye, Grandfather." Voices and images passed before him, blurred somewhere in the fog and just barely within hearing. Jason knew them for memories, perhaps his grandfather's, he didn't know. They kept coming and passing and Jason tried to catch each one to look and listen but there were too many.

He ran into the fog, desperate to catch them all, and suddenly a pressure wrapped around his knees and he fell. Jason twisted around to see what was wrong and found a rope, but it was tied around his ankles, not his knees. A resonating, throaty voice whispered, "You cannot defeat me," and his leg were pulled apart.

Fear gripped Jason that he'd be raped and he screamed, "No!" and yanked, hard. The rope snapped free and came into his hands, but he wasn't free by any means. On its own volition, the rope began twining itself about his arms, his hips, his knees.

He fought against it, struggling to free himself, but it gained him nothing. He felt tired and had no idea why. He'd only just started fighting, hadn't he?

"Are you afraid?" a voice asked. Jalen walked out of the mist like a spectre. Without realizing it, Jason flinched and tensed his body, readying himself for an attack. Jalen squatted at his feet, arms crossed lazily over his knees. "Why do you fear me so?"

"You're a rapist," Jason said tightly.

"Am I?" Jalen asked, placing his hands on Jason's ankles. "Could it be that you fear me because I am what could happen... to you?"

"No!" Jason protested, squeezing his eyes shut, raising his knees, trying to pull away.

"Jason!" Jalen shouted. "Look at me!"

Jason opened his eyes, readying himself for the attack he'd expected before but again, nothing happened. Jalen's hands were on his ankles, but he was untying the ropes. They fell away and disappeared, then Jalen stood and offered his hand. Jason slowly reached up and took it, and felt a peculiar strength when he was pulled to his feet. He stared at the man before him, seeing two people in that bearded face. A bearded face that no longer belonged to Jalen, but to himself.

"It is not Jalen that you fear," said his double before he slowly thinned and became part of the fog.

"It is me," Jason said. In the distance, raven cawed.

**. . .**

Jack and Daniel entered the hogan and found Asatay, with his two young shamans, standing by the door. They seemed to be waiting. Across the room, Jason sat cross-legged, hands clenched into fists and resting on his knees. His head had fallen back and his breathing was rapid, shallow. He seemed to be talking, responding to something, but neither Daniel nor Jack could make it out.

Asatay wordlessly gestured for them to be quiet and guided them over to Jason, pushing them down to sit on either side of him. Jack stared at the tear-streaked face of his lover and began to worry. Jason wasn't registering his presence and his skin was glistening with a sheen of sweat. Daniel mouthed 'trance' to Asatay and the shaman nodded. Then Jason made a horrible gasping sound, like one of pain, and not bothering to ask if it was okay, Jack and Daniel put their arms firmly around him.

Before them, it was obvious that Lin was dead. His eyes were closed but he was no longer breathing. Asatay and his two assistants moved swiftly, picking him up. Blindly, Jason reached out in front of him but just as quickly dropped his hand in his lap as the three men moved away, reverently carrying Lin from the hogan.

Daniel looked down, eyes widening, as he noticed that in Jason's palm lay a small black feather. He knew it was a raven's only because of Jason's dreams. It couldn't be anything else. Sitting there, doing nothing but needlessly holding Jason, he wondered what else they could do and transmitted that question with a look to Jack. Jack shook his head.

They sat for a while, saying nothing, waiting for Asatay to return. When he finally did, with his helpers, Sam, Teal'c, Al and Connor followed him. Alex wasn't with them. When Daniel's gaze found Asatay's, the man nodded. "He is coming."

**. . .**

Alex sat watching the land and its creatures. The sun shone down but was filtered by the leaves of a tree whose shelter he had found. With his back braced against the trunk, he let his mind wander. Though his intention had been to think, he ended up not wanting to think about anything. Not Al and Connor, not Jason or Jalen.

He closed his eyes, letting the soft breeze wash over him, to soothe him. Minutes ran together and he began to doze.

_Alex_

Alex raised his head sleepily, eyes still closed. "Hmmm?"

_Alex_

Alex's eyes suddenly shot open. Asatay's voice, and yet, it wasn't. "Jason?" he asked, looking around, then getting to his feet. "Jason?" There was no one there but Alex knew he hadn't imagined hearing his voice. Jason was calling him. How or why didn't matter. Alex got up and raced for the hogan.

**. . .**

At the door, Shalla held her hand up, stalling Alex. She made a quieting gesture, then opened the flap and waved him inside.

Alex's vision adjusted slowly to the firelight, eyes catching sight of his teammates first, looking at him expectantly. They sat next to Sam and Teal'c on the right side of the room, framing the fire, and with a touch of guilt, Alex moved over and sat down, last in line and closest to the door. He crossed his legs like the others, then looked across to his right, to Jack and Daniel framing Jason.

Alex couldn't see him clearly, but he saw enough to tell him that Jason was either asleep or in a trance, that his face and torso were bare and glossy with sweat. Blocking his view was Asatay, who was kneeling in front of Jason, bowl in one hand, fingertips painting stripes of red and yellow color over Jason's cheeks. A white stripe had already been placed down the center of his chin, accenting the dimple there.

Movement had Alex looking up past the line to watch Asatay's assistants settle on their knees to their shaman's right. In their hands were things Alex assumed had to do with the tattoo but he couldn't see exactly what they were. Craning his neck, he caught flashes of a bowl, something needle-sharp the color of bone.

At Jason's right, Jack could see just fine, and he watched with protective interest as Asatay's fingers finished painting his lover's face. He clenched his jaw, wishing to christ that Al and Connor weren't there because he desperately wanted to hold Jason's hand. Not as his friend, either. He reached out carefully to touch Jason's chest but Asatay's hand blocked him.

"He needs to be clean," Asatay whispered, and redirected Jack's hand, placing it firmly on Jason's shoulder.

Jason surprised them all, murmuring, "Jack," and Jack's eyes widened.

"He knows you are here," Asatay whispered.

Daniel met Jack's gaze and without asking, placed his hand on the other shoulder. "Daniel," Jason slowly pronounced, the sound more of a moan than a murmur and it sent a chill through Daniel's body. Whether inappropriate or not, it also sent signals to every erogenous zone he had.

The smoke in the room was slightly tangy, its sweet scent not overpowering but one no one could ignore. Whatever it was, Daniel knew it was having a profound effect on Jason as a hypnotic. However, Jason wasn't completely unaware of what was happening because the moment Asatay began to whisper ceremonial words, Jason's breath quickened.

"Take his hands and arms. Hold him," one of Asatay's assistants told Jack and Daniel.

Grateful to keep in contact with him, to let Jason know they were there, Jack and Daniel quickly complied. In response, Jason gripped them tightly. He swayed but remained upright, his words sounding slurred, drunken. When Asatay picked up a curved, hollow bone implement and filled its cavity with a black substance similar to ink, Jason began to mutter. Sweat beaded on his upper lip and the words he whispered were Diné. Daniel wished he could understand them all, though he picked up a few he thought he understood.

Then Asatay began to speak faster. His whispers seemed harsher but his voice didn't rise. He raised the bone implement and his nearest assistant sprinkled something into its open end. Then Asatay touched the sharp tip to Jason's chest, just above his heart and a hissing sound emerged and thick, yellow, acrid smoke appeared.

Jason gasped and squeezed his lovers' hands tightly as his lips continued to move, speaking the unfamiliar words. Daniel stared with alarm and fascination as the tool began to mark Jason's skin, _searing_ the ink into him. Jason's hands tightened painfully but Daniel and Jack squeezed back, taking the punishing grip as some sort of shared compensation.

Daniel felt Jack mirrored his own feelings as they both watched the bone implement burn ink into Jason's skin. They could do nothing to interfere, not that they would, but neither liked seeing Jason in pain. Jack wished he could soothe it, take it away. The emotional, telepathic bond they shared, thanks to Adriann, allowed him to feel a little bit of what Jason was going through, but the essence of it was lost to him.

He knew he'd understand later, after Jason explained, but it didn't stop him from wanting there to be a point to the ritual that wasn't simply symbolic. It might be disrespectful, and Jack was sorry for that, but he wanted something tangible for Jason, for there to be a greater reason for having his skin burned into a tattoo. He tried to silently communicate his wishes and concerns to Daniel and Daniel stared back, as if assessing, then suddenly nodded with apparent understanding.

Asatay's hand moved surely, methodically, his eyes riveted to what he was doing, and he continued to speak rapidly, pausing occasionally to swallow a liquid placed to his mouth by one of his assistants. Daniel wondered if it was to wet his throat or enhance his mind like a drug.

Minutes passed with aching slowness and Daniel looked over at Sam, Teal'c, and the others, all watching what was going on, though Asatay's body partially obscured some of them from viewing the ritual tattoo. Daniel couldn't help but wonder whether that was good or bad, because none of them would like the up close and personal smell of the yellow smoke wafting into his face. It was caused by burning skin, except it wasn't really burning. Daniel couldn't explain it to himself properly. The ink was seared into the skin, but the skin was also being burned.

Closest to Jason was Sam, who could smell the tell-tale singe of skin and wrinkled her nose with comprehension and active dislike. She caught Daniel's gaze and half-smiled at him in sympathy. Looking at Teal'c, sitting to her right, for confirmation, she found him sitting stone-faced. He glanced back at her but didn't speak or indicate any emotion. His mind was whirling with memories of painful tattoos given elsewhere, a long, long time ago.

But with those tattoos, there were the screams of agony as molten gold flooded the wounds made. He was glad that Jason's tattoo wasn't as painful. While it obviously caused him discomfort, its placement wasn't as severe, disfiguring the face. Teal'c was glad, and more so that this tattoo was spiritually significant, holding better meaning and purpose than the one he himself wore upon his brow.

Sam had told him once that the tattoo could be removed, and Teal'c had seriously considered it. But in the end, he'd said no. Until all Jaffa were free, he'd told her, he would wear the symbol of oppression just as they did. He redirected his gaze to the firelight, noting in his peripheral vision that Sam was watching him, her green eyes blinking from the unpleasant smoke and pungent scent drawn from Jason's skin.

He wondered what she was thinking, whether she was really okay that their intimacy was at an end. For himself, he was disappointed, but not overly bothered. They still had their friendship and their bond as warriors, and for him, that was far more important. The only thing that was foremost on his mind was getting through this ritual without embarrassing Jason's people by showing any signs of weakness.

Daniel saw the expression on Teal'c's face and reached out with his mind. He suddenly wished Teal'c could've been spared this ritual, though he knew he would have demanded to be included, despite his own discomfort. Speaking of discomfort, Daniel's eyes were starting to water and his nose was beginning to run from the effects of the smoke. He kept distracting himself with holding onto Jason, helping Jack to keep him still, but when his nose began to itch and run, he drew his mouth down over his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut.

Startling him with a hand on his arm, Daniel opened his eyes to find the young assistant closest to him offering him a scrap of soft cloth for his nose--a sympathetic look on his face. Daniel nodded and took it, wiping at his nose and eyes. Everyone else's faces showed their noses weren't all that dry either and just as he hoped for a cloth to hand to Jack, the assistant rose and moved around the room with effortless grace, handing out the strips of cloth. He returned to his place next to his colleague, body language unchanged, as if this had been expected. It probably was, Daniel thought, and started to wonder how many people had received these tattoos.

Jason's sudden tightening of muscles brought Daniel out of his ruminations and he glanced over at Jack who'd noticed it, too. They held Jason more firmly, thinking it was something inside their lover's mind. When the assistant who'd passed around the cloth suddenly reached out and covered Jason's groin with a larger cloth, Daniel and Jack found out otherwise.

From what they'd briefly seen, Jason was intensely aroused. Daniel had no idea _what_ was going on, but when Jason flinched and shuddered, Daniel took a look over his shoulder to see if Asatay was doing something to cause this reaction. He was, at the bottom part of the design, just under the nipple. The nub was red and hard, and both Jack and Daniel knew from experience that Jason's nipples were very sensitive to pain, and he could be easily aroused by direct pinching, twisting, or biting or teasing around them. Apparently, this applied.

What Daniel didn't get was why this was arousing Jason because he normally didn't get off on this kind of pain. Something was going on in Jason's mind other than murder warnings and subconscious mind exams. So what the hell was it?

**. .**

_"It is me."_

Right after the words were out of Jason's mouth, and the raven had made its exclamation point, voices came out of the mist, emotional and filled with hate and anger. Voices from the past, from his teen years, from the academy years, from past missions. Some of the memory voices belonged to his enemies, some belonged to him.

Jason had wondered why his grandfather had chosen, of all the things to talk about on his deathbed, to bring up those fights, those beatings suffered at the hands of homophobes. It couldn't have been as a warning not to dwell in the house of hatred. Jason had been there and he'd left.

After the second beating he'd gotten at age 16, Jason developed a determination to never be at the hands of those people again--and lose. He'd learned to defend himself as well as others from _the bad guys_ , and he'd learned to do it without emotion, without anger and hatred fueling him.

But. Jalen was an example of what could happen to him when victimized to the point of becoming the perpetrator--something Jason had fought all his life to avoid. And there it stood, staring him in the face. And all Jason had been able to feel was active hatred, which only made things worse.

It had taken weeks for him to get rid of the anger and hate, weeks to separate it from his sexual drive, so that having sex was fun and passionate, not tinged with images of Jalen and Baal.

So Jason understood part of what Lin had somehow known about. And the calm came, the realization and the peace. But now the focus had shifted to homophobia, the one thing that threatened Jason's peace, regardless of when and where. No matter what was going on in his life, any confrontation with homophobes drove Jason's peace of mind straight to hell. Anger flared in zero to three seconds. Anger so deep, it became the killing emotion. Hate.

Homophobia was the only thing left that made Jason angry enough to kill without too much provocation. Self-defense from the Goa'uld and their brainwashed Jaffa was different. Coming across phobes in the military and elsewhere was something else entirely, and Lin had brought it to Jason's consciousness for a reason. Which meant what?

The only thing Jason could think of: bigotry was about to be front and center in his future.

Anger and resentment filled him. _"Enough already!"_ he screamed into the mist. The moment that thought finished cementing itself in his mind, the mist around Jason began to swirl into a few tiny funnels that reminded him of dust devils. He stared at them skating across the strange colorless ground he stood on, and as he watched their perfect chaos, a peace began to fill him.

Everything would be okay, it told him. There was no point in hating something that was conditioned to do harm. His only job was to bring order to chaos, peace from war, love from hate. Although that last one...

Pain suddenly bloomed from nowhere, dancing across his chest, leaving heat in its wake. Jason hissed and massaged his left pec and looking down, he saw the beginnings of a tattoo. It looked weird, like watching an artist's work performed without the artist.

Did the pain come because he'd resisted peace, resisted love. Did he _want_ to hate? No, he didn't. But Jason was a realist. He knew that you couldn't make love from hate any more than you could reform a violent homophobe or a religious fanatic. One could try, but it was like repeatedly bashing your own head into a wall. All you did was make yourself bleed and give yourself one hell of a concussion. What was the point?

What was the point. Because to give up was to admit that darkness had won.

Laughter suddenly erupted from the mist. Soft, gentle, sensuous laughter. It was Daniel's voice.

"Daniel?" he asked, turning to his right, toward the voice. He walked into the mist, hand on his chest, rubbing absently, feeling the skin burn. "Where are you?"

A figure appeared in the distance, grey and featureless, and came walking toward him. The stride was Daniel's and Jason walked toward him, then began to run. Yes, it was Daniel, dressed in the ritual clothes Jason wore, only they were white. When Jason reached him, Daniel grabbed him by the hair--only instead of kissing him as Jason expected, he pulled his head backward. Jason's breathing instantly quickened and his dick began to harden. His hands slid under the tunic to find Daniel's warm skin. "Daniel," he whispered.

"Time for some distraction," Daniel said with a seductive smile.

"Yes," he breathed just before the pain intensified in his chest and his breath was sucked out of him. "Oh god," he choked.

"Jason, look at me," Daniel said, gripping hard, tightening his fist. " _Look at me_!"

Jason looked at him, but the pain was too much, too...

Daniel kissed him then, hard, and Jason tried to concentrate but the pain was too much...

"Look," Daniel said, breathing the word as he whispered it. It sounded odd but captivating and it _did_ catch Jason's attention. Daniel opened his mouth for a smile, baring his teeth. Then his sharp little canines began to grow. Jason's eyes widened as he watch the teeth lengthen into fangs, the tips elongating to needle-sharp points just like Adriann's.

"Oh my god, Daniel," Jason whispered.

Daniel licked his fangs, seemingly testing them, then his eyes rested on eyes... then his throat. He murmured, "I think I'll keep them, most because you look _so_ good."

New heat spread everywhere in Jason's body as he realized how fucking sexy Daniel appeared. He was properly distracted now as Daniel took control, hands sliding up the back of his legs...

He was on his back? Jason wondered when he'd gotten there, or where his clothes had gone, where Daniel's were, but the questions were absently asked because he didn't really care. Daniel was hovering over him, placing his legs around his waist. Jason lifted his knees and tried to lock his ankles together, gasping when Daniel slid his cock deep inside him. "Yes, yes," Jason repeated, then yelled with orgasmic pleasure when Daniel's teeth sliced deep into his neck. He hadn't come--not really--but the pleasure was exactly the same.

Beyond them, in the mist, Jason heard Asatay's voice, whispering, chanting, and Jason began to do the same, speaking words he'd never heard, feeling a power fill his body and mind as surely as Daniel's body did the same...

**. .**

Minutes blurred by. No one was aware of what was transpiring inside Jason's mind--no one but Daniel, though he knew only the emotions, not the content. For good or bad, they were transferring straight to his cock, making him hard, and his emotions were then projected onto Jack, making him hard, too. If anyone looked at their crotches, they'd know what their bodies were thinking and it would be problematic for Jack because Al and Connor had no clue about him. This was becoming a dilemma.

Until they were rescued by the assistant who'd covered Jason; he came around and placed long decorative plaits of cotton over their groins, making them look as if they were part of the ritual clothing, and Daniel vowed to give that young man anything he wanted. Mind back on what was happening, he looked down and saw that the tattoo was finished, but that Asatay's hands were now pressed over Jason's ribs. His eyes were closed and he was speaking very fast in that harsh whisper.

Then all of a sudden, he stopped. Jason fell silent, too, and his head lolled back, body no longer in a trance but unconscious. He started to fall backward but Jack and Daniel caught him quickly, though not quite so easily. Jason's wasn't exactly a lightweight.

"Please lay him down and stay with him," Asatay commanded quietly as one of his assistants placed blankets down behind Jason. Daniel and Jack complied, laying him carefully atop the soft blue cotton. Sam, Teal'c, Alex, Al and Connor got to their feet, concerned as well as curious. Jack and Daniel scanned Jason's face for signs of stress, looked over his body, his chest, checking out more than just the tattoo, but his breathing.

Everything seemed to be fine, so they allowed themselves a bit more of a look at the tattoo that now adorned the left pectoral muscle of their lover's chest. It was quite obviously a raven, though Daniel was confused because the design was very similar to native British Columbian.

"Where'd you get the idea for that?" he asked Asatay.

"From his mind," Asatay answered.

"His mind? How?"

Asatay grinned enigmatically. "Through an ability I possess, aided by the resin."

"But it's not part of his ancestors' mythology," Daniel went on.

"All animals on your planet bear the same mythology but moved into different circles of life. This one spoke to Jason and whether it was part of his ancestors' culture or not, it has claimed him as his spirit guide."

"Oh," Daniel said, then finally shrugged. It wasn't something to argue about, just accept. "Now what?" he asked softly, glancing up as Alex came around and knelt by Jason's head, hand going immediately to his head. Daniel couldn't tell if Alex was comforting Jason or himself, but most likely the latter. He knew he'd be doing the same thing soon enough.

"Everyone must leave now," Asatay said, "except for you and Jack, as you are his... closest friends."

"But what about us?" Alex asked in half-protest.

"I am sorry," Asatay said kindly. "They are the only ones to remain." He looked at Jack and Daniel and added further instruction. "It is up to you to watch over him, tend to him when he awakes because he will be... disoriented."

"How long will he be out?" Jack asked.

"That is entirely up to Jason," Asatay said, then held his hand out, gesturing at the door. Alex didn't want to go, but he followed Sam and Teal'c anyway. Behind him were Al and Connor, their expressions of concern reminding Alex not to give anything away.

"Where do we go?" Sam asked, stopping at the door.

"You may return to your hogan and wait, or to pass the time, you may come to the great hall and help us prepare for the feast we will have, in our celebration of Lin's final spirit walk." He pointed to his assistants, who handed Jack and Daniel six small ceramic jars. "These balms will soothe the pain and encourage the skin to heal quickly. Treat him now, and several times during the day, now and after you return home."

"For how long?" Jack asked, taking three of the jars.

"Two Earth weeks," Asatay said simply.

Jack noticed how no one wanted to leave. "We'll be fine. Asatay, can you give us an idea of how long we'll be in here? When Jason wakes up, do we bring him to the hall immediately or wait a certain period of time?"

Asatay looked down at Jason's sleeping form and peaceful but fevered appearance. "Perhaps an hour, probably a little more than that. It is up to Jason when he is ready to leave the hogan. When he is ready, he is to come to the feast."

Jack nodded, satisfied with the answer. "Well, folks, you heard the man. If you don't wanna wait and want to keep busy, go to the great hall. We'll join you when we can."

"As you wish," Teal'c said, nodding once. He looked at Jason, raised a brow, then left the hogan. Sam followed with a final look over her shoulder, then Alex, Al and Connor right behind.

Asatay remained behind, but indicated his assistants should leave. When they did, he walked over and knelt to the right of Jason's head, where Alex had been minutes before. Daniel knelt across from him and touched Jason's cheek with the backs of his fingers. With an alarmed expression, he said, "He's very warm."

"The sleep trance," Asatay said soothingly. "Do not worry. It is normal." He stared admiringly down at the mark decorating Jason's skin. "It is a beautiful tattoo."

"It is," Jack agreed.

Asatay rose then, bowed to them, then promptly left the hogan, leaving them alone. Jack immediately knelt in his place, and since they were now alone, he took advantage of the fact and bent over, kissing Jason's forehead, his palm over the crown of his head. Leaning back up, Jack ran his hand over his lover's head, petting damp hair strands away from his face.

Daniel took that moment to copy him and bent over, kissing Jason's eyebrow, then temple. "Wake up, Jason."

Jack looked startled. "Should you do that?"

"Why not?" Daniel asked. "Asatay said it's up to Jason. I say we encourage him."

Jack agreed, and kept up the petting of his hair. "Did you notice how Asatay carefully avoided calling us Jason's husbands?"

"I noticed. He did that because of Al and Connor, which means that Lin had probably reminded him." Daniel took a deep breath and continued to stare down into Jason's face.

"It'll be fine, Daniel," Jack said, finally moving his hand away from Jason's hair.

"I know, but you know me," Daniel said, taking Jack's place and threading his fingers through Jason's hair.

Jack smiled lovingly. "I know you."

They were both startled when Jason released a sudden inhale-exhale and Daniel pulled his hand back as if he'd done something wrong.

From Jason's experience, it was like being woken out of an erotic dream. Disoriented, he took a quick breath and fought against consciousness, not wanting to leave the dream... unfinished. But it was too late. He was awake, for the most part. He opened his eyes, blinking rapidly, and stared up at the ceiling, sight out of focus.

"Hey there, Sleeping Beauty," Daniel said with a relieved smile.

Hearing that voice, Jason rested his eyes on the real thing and reached up, hand on Daniel's throat, thumb stroking his chin. He was in the real world now, he told himself. But just to make sure, he said, "Do me a favor and let me see your teeth."

With an amused smile and a look at Jack, Daniel did as asked. "Well?" he asked, smiling widely. "What're you looking for? Green teeth?"

Jason slid his hand down Daniel's chest, caressing him. "You had fangs. They felt very real."

"Fangs?" Daniel asked, eyes almost as wide as Jack's.

"Fangs?" Jack repeated. His dick did a little interested twitch at the idea.

_They felt very real._ "Did I...?" Daniel asked.

"You did," Jason nodded, pushing up so he could sit. He winced and hissed at the stinging soreness of his chest.

"Shit, I forgot," Daniel said, pushing away the erotic idea of being a vampire as he opened one of the jars and began to spread the ointment on Jason's chest. It was ironic, he thought. Once upon a time, the idea of being a vampire scared the shit out of him.

Jason breathed a sigh of relief as the salve was applied, soothing his skin. He tried to watch Daniel apply the honey-colored paste but his head kept getting in the way.

Jack picked up a jar and helped, and when Jason looked down at his fingers, then up into his eyes, Jack asked, "Where was I in this dream?"

"I don't know," Jason answered, confused and disappointed. "You weren't there."

"That's not unusual," Jack said, not hurt by it. Sometimes he dreamed about Jason alone, sometimes it was Daniel.

"Yeah, well..." Jason said, looking at him curiously.

"During the last part of the procedure, you got hard," Daniel told him as casually as he could.

"I'm not surprised," Jason answered as he lost focus and thought about the dream.

"Wanna talk about what happened?" Daniel asked as he put the lid back on the jar and set it behind him with the others. Jack did the same.

Turning away from the dream images, Jason slid his arm smoothly and quickly around Daniel's neck and said, "Later," before pulling him into a deep, passionate kiss.

Daniel had no trouble returning it with equal fervor, but when Jason's hand moved down his body in a way he knew intimately well, Daniel pulled back from the kiss. "Jason, this isn't the time."

"It isn't?" Jason asked, smiling, but his mood was broken by the pain that suddenly spread over his chest when Jack pushed two fingers over the skin _outside_ of the tattoo.

"It isn't," Jack told him unnecessarily.

Jason made a groaning sound, his eyes hungrily moving over Jack's body. "You look so good in white," he said with both admiration and regret.

"Do I?" Jack asked, half-kidding but fishing for more compliments as he looked down at himself.

Jason made another sound, this one a growl, and with his good side, wrapped his arm quickly about Jack's neck and did the same thing he'd done for Daniel. Kissed him without restraint.

Jack returned it, but broke apart regretfully, licking at his lips. "When we get home, I'll gladly fuck you into a coma, but right now? Um, no, don't think so. If it were just the three of us here, no problem."

Jason had forgotten but Jack's subtle reminder returned his memory to him and Jason let out another groan, this one filled with dissatisfaction and annoyance. "Goddamn it." He began to stand and winced so much so that Jack and Daniel ended up helping him to his feet. His nose itched and he rubbed it, the heel of his hand coming away with a yellow smear. He stared at it, then snorted. "Oh, don't tell me. I have paint on my face?"

Daniel blinked at him, incredulous. "Weren't you aware of that part?"

"I guess not," he said, then stopped and abruptly started to snigger, looking back and forth at Jack and Daniel. He picked up the cloth that had been over his lap and went before Daniel, rubbing the cloth over his face. "And now, you two have paint on your faces."

Daniel smirked as Jason rubbed it off. "Hmmmm, wonder where that came from."

Jason smiled. "I don't." Moving to Jack, he said, making tsking sounds. "Look at this mess. What would Al and Connor say?"

"If they're smart, the only thing they _could_ say," Jack rebutted, taking the cloth from Jason so he could wipe the paint from his face. He paused, giving Jason a wink. "I think it'd be better to take the paint off you, too."

The paint removed, Jason looked down at his chest, grimacing.

"Pain?"

"No... well, yes, but that's not it. It's just... this thing is _big_. I expected something... shit, I don't know what I expected."

"What happened with Lin?" Daniel asked.

"I... right now, whatever he put in my head, it's a jumbled mess. Let me sort it out, then I'll explain."

"Are you saying that Lin shared his knowledge with you telepathically?" Jack asked.

"I guess," Jason answered, wincing again.

Jack shrugged. "Beats the old-fashioned way, I suppose."

"Except I have no idea what he did," Jason said, rubbing at his brow. He suddenly groaned as a wave of nausea hit him. He started to sway unsteadily and Jack and Daniel helped him to sit back down.

"Here," Daniel said, filling a mug with some juice that sat on a small, squat table behind them. "They probably prepared this for you, so drink up. Headache?"

"Yeah," Jason said, taking the cup from him. "Thanks."

Jack knelt in front of him, worried eyes looking over him, then spied a tunic vest nearby, sitting folded next to the fire. He picked it up and handed it to Daniel. "Here, put this on him. He might get chilled next."

"You sound like my mother when I was little," Jason snapped with annoyance. "And what fever?"

"You feel a bit warm," Daniel told him, sliding the open garment over Jason's arms and onto his shoulders, but the moment it went over his left shoulder, it stung against the tattoo and Jason irritably threw it off.

"Forget it. And I'm not going to get chilled, not in this dry weather," Jason said, as he drained the cup of what he assumed was juice. Holding it out to Daniel, he asked, "Could you get me some more, please?"

"Sure," he said, refilling it and handing it back.

Jason drank half of it, then satisfied, let out a breath of exhaustion. Deep down, he knew this day had been coming but it was something he kept pushing into the back of his mind. His grandfather couldn't live forever, he knew that. Still...

Daniel squatted next to Jack, giving him a puzzled look as he carefully scrutinized Jason's expression and body language. There was something different about him but he didn't know if it was real or his imagination. Jack shot back a silent puzzled query, asking what was up but Daniel shook his head.

Jason caught the exchange. "What?"

"That was my question," Jack said to Daniel.

"Daniel?" Jason arched a brow at him and Daniel shook his head.

"It's that annoying sense that Adriann gave me." Jason's brow went up further. "I don't..." Daniel paused, furrowing his brows as he squinted at Jason in concentration. "Jace, how're you feeling? Is there anything different, other than the tattoo?"

Jason thought about it but he didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. "If so, I don't have a clue yet. I got all this stuff in my head that I can't make sense of because it went by too fast for me to grab it."

"That was part of the dream?" Jack asked.

"No, no, it was before the dream... I think." Jason rubbed his brow again, trying to make sense of it. "Before Daniel appeared, before... other stuff happened. I think it was before Grandfather died. He was talking to me, in my mind. He said he gave me his gifts, some sort of powers, but I never saw him use anything other than enhanced intuition--what some might call lucky or spooky guesses--so if that's what he meant, then only time will tell. When I asked Grandfather, he told me to ask Asatay."

"Meaning they'd already spoken," Jack surmised.

"I guess," Jason shrugged. "I'll have to ask him regardless." He drained his second cup and set it down. "Okay, help me up." Jack and Daniel did and soon found it wasn't necessary. The headache was mild now, with no dizziness or nausea.

"Okay?" Daniel asked.

"Okay," Jason replied. "Let's go see our people."

"They're probably in the great hall, assisting with the feast."

"Really?" Jason asked. "Huh. I'd like to see that. Let's go."

"Um, hang on," Jack said, hand on Jason's arm. "Do you think we have to show up wearing these?"

Jason pursed his lips. "No. You can change. The others probably have. I'll probably have to wear this for a bit, then change before we go back home. I have no idea if that'll be today or tomorrow."

"I'll change, then head back to the gate, give Hammond an update," Jack told him as they left the hogan.

The cooler air hit Jason like a balm. The sun was just setting and Jason stopped and breathed in slowly. He looked around, then saw a short straw bench sitting alongside SG-1's assigned hogan. "Tell you what, you go make your call and I'll wait here."

Jack grinned indulgently. "Fine. Daniel? You stay with him, make sure he's okay?"

Rolling his eyes, Jason pointed behind him. "Stop worrying and go change. I'm fine. Just don't take too long. I'm not walking into the great hall without my husbands." Jack and Daniel froze, staring at him, then Daniel slowly sat down next to him. "What?" Jason asked.

"Husbands," Jack repeated, a small smile on his lips.

Jason grinned, shrugging with just a tilt of his head. "Grandfather called you that, actually. It really never occurs to me, being stuck into the hetero world of laws and rules."

"I like it," Daniel said, a pleased smile spreading across his face.

Jason felt flustered suddenly. "I said it because that's what I meant." He paused, then reached out and took Jack's hand, lifting it to his mouth. "I may not be able to do anything with Al and Connor hanging around, but I just wanted you to know that the thought's there."

"Not necessary," Jack told him, "but this is." He shot a quick look around, and seeing no one, bent over and kissed him. It wasn't long enough as he'd like and this wasn't the time and place, but he needed to do it just the same. "I'll be back asap."

**. . .**

With his lovers flanking him, Jason stepped through the stone doorway and proceeded into the large community hall. It had changed slightly since the last time he'd been there, but there were still the same decorations of color, by paint or weaving, on the walls and floors. The same scents pleasantly filled the room with smells of incense, cooking and oil lamps. The long rectangular tables, however, were gone, and in their place were three large round ones, sectional curved benches fitted for the seats. They were placed where the other ones had been and nearby, smaller versions had also replaced the children's tables.

At the far end, in the center, sat the immense hearth fire, but in addition was a new central circle in the middle of the room. The preparation tables were still to the far left and the dining to the right, but where there'd been other prep tables, the fire now stood. An immense circle of stones, twenty feet wide, Jason guessed, was filled with glowing coals and flames at their center.

"Over here," Alex called out.

Several small children ran up to Jason then and he thought he recognized a few. They were quickly rattling off their ancient tongue as they took his hands and led him across the room to the round table closest to the rear hearth where Alex was standing, with the rest of their teammates sitting at the table.

As they walked over, Jason spoke to the children in their language, asking how they were. One girl, about 8, made him laugh by immediately launching into a complaint about him being late.

"My apologies," he said in Diné. He caught Jack and Daniel staring at him, strange looks on their faces. "What?" he asked.

"You're good with children," Jack observed.

"Only because they're not mine," Jason warned him, "so don't get any ideas."

"Who me? Not a chance, it was just an observation." Jack winked at Daniel and they both smiled, having had their little tease.

"Sorry for being late," Jason said to Asatay, clasping his arm when the man left the table and approached them.

"No one faults you," Asatay said as he looked over the tattoo. "How does it feel?"

"It hurts," Jason mock-scolded, but with a smile following. "It's beautiful work." He didn't need to ask Asatay where the design came from. As shaman, the man would have discovered that through their mystic connection earlier.

As they approached the table, several Elders to his left moved away from the central hearth, and only then did Jason see the additional decoration. His grandfather had been placed to the left of the hearth, laid out on a pallet held three feet off the ground by several very sturdy-looking square baskets. His body was in his shaman's robes, decorated in rich colors, beads, feathers, metals, all symbols of the four elements. On his head was a band of leather but Jason was too far away to see what the center decoration was. It looked like a white stone symbolizing either the moon or the sun.

Jason started to say something complimentary to Asatay about the way Lin was presented but found his throat constricted. He didn't fight it, and instead nodded at Asatay to show his appreciation.

"Come, sit," Asatay said, rescuing him, and Jason gave him a grateful smile as he sat down in a seat that faced the hearth, and his grandfather's funerary stand. Jack and Daniel sat down to his left, with Asatay to his right. Jason nodded to everyone, swallowing hard, and was grateful they didn't ask for him to speak just then. Dishes were set on the table around him, serving him, Daniel, and Jack what the others had already been eating.

"So, what's next after the meal?" he asked Asatay.

"After we celebrate his life in this feast tonight, myself and a few of the elder shamans will wrap his body and take him to the small house for his morning pyre."

"Why the morning?" Jason asked.

"To greet the sun as it rises, Jason. The gods will greet him with the morning rays and take him on his next journey.

Jason frowned as he stared at his friend's dark eyes. "But... his spirit's already departed, Asatay. Shouldn't the pyre be now?"

Asatay grinned at him. "The departed souls go with the rising sun, not the setting one."

Jason nodded, sort of seeing the logic. He stared across at Lin's body, then was suddenly aware of everyone's eyes on him. It made him shiver. "Stop staring, folks," he said. "I'm fine."

Looking around, and smiling at a woman who set a large platter on the table amongst all the others, Daniel asked Asatay, "So, what happens after the funeral pyre?"

"Nothing. The ceremony is complete."

"For everyone?" Jack asked pointedly. He thought there'd be more to it than that, especially for Jason.

"Jason's role with our people will never be finished, but the ceremony itself will be concluded and he will no longer be required to stay. He is now our link to the outside world as I am to your people."

"Except you won't get me when you deal with our people, Asatay, unless you ask for me specifically. If I'm not available, then it'll take time."

"Of that I am aware," Asatay answered, reminding Jason that he had already been in on all transactions made between the SGC and the Diné.

"Of course," Jason said by way of apology.

"You are still our link, Jason. It matters not if we trade directly with you. We would prefer to deal with others so that we may get a better understanding of your world."

Jason groaned, as did everyone else from Earth.

"What is it?" Asatay asked.

"You already have a basic understanding of my world. You don't need to be subjected to the darker side of it."

Asatay took a breath, struggling for the words, but when he found them inadequate, he began to talk to Jason in the Diné language instead. "You and your people here, as well as those we have traded with, are proof that not all within your world are evil. Though we may wish that evil not exist, it is not the order of things. Good cannot exist without evil just as light cannot exist without dark. There must be balance or the world falls into chaos."

Jason gave Asatay a slow grin of understanding. "You're quite right." Without being asked, he turned to Daniel, Jack and the others and told them what Asatay had said.

"You'll find that's a common theme among many religions on Earth," Daniel told Asatay.

"And on Chulak," Teal'c informed them. "It is universal."

"So it is," Asatay said raising his mug to salute Teal'c, who returned the gesture and drank from his glass.

Sam grabbed a biscuit from a basket in front of her and offered the basket to Al, who declined.

"Haven't you been eating anything?" Jason asked.

"No, sir," Al replied, though his stomach was growling as he looked over the leaf-wrapped meat rolls. "None of it's kosher."

"You've eaten non-kosher stuff before," Connor said, confused.

"Yeah, but that's when I don't have a choice. When I do, I'll have to refrain."

"Except when it's politic not to refuse, Al," Connor reminded him. "Pick _something_ marginally inoffensive and eat, or they'll think something is wrong."

"There is no offense taken," Asatay pronounced, looking at Al and nodding to give his permission to abstain from the meal.

"Thank you," Al replied, looking relieved. Instead, he refilled his mug with juice, having decided that was acceptable.

"Do you often find problems when you go on these missions of yours to strange cultures?" Asatay asked.

Jason gave his sheepish-looking men a smirk before answering. "Sometimes. Earth has a great many cultures that are vastly different to the one that operates overall at the SGC. Al's family and ancestors, for example, have rituals for preparing and blessing their foods and they can't eat anything that isn't approved.

"However," he went on, "since Al joined a military that does not follow those strictures, he has to break the rules. When he's at home, he follows his religious custom. When he's at the SGC, he tries to as much as he can. But when we're offworld, he has to eat what we have." Jason then gave Al a stern look--a reminder of their early days as a team. "He knows I won't allow any member of my team to starve themselves. An empty stomach is a body undernourished as well as unfit for duty."

Before Al could come up with something sarcastic, Asatay abandoned the subject and asked Jason, "How do you feel?"

Jason swallowed the small mouthful of food, aware of his people's eyes on him as well as the sudden absence of noise, waiting to hear his answer. "I don't know," he answered truthfully. At Al and Connor's concerned expressions, he rolled his eyes and said, "I'm not gonna sprout fangs and howl at the moon."

While Jack, Daniel and the others found that amusing, Asatay and the other Diné at the table did not and they exchanged concerned looks.

Jason noticed. "What? Has anyone ever done that?"

After an uncomfortable silence, Asatay said, "Not in my lifetime, but it is possible to be possessed by an animal."

"You're right," Jason answered. He thought of Adriann's people and the time he was infected by the bite from Tam. For a while afterwards, Jason's senses had been hyper-alert. He still wasn't sure if that had been from the bonding with Adriann or leftover symptoms from the poison. "It is possible," he said, catching the looks of comprehension on his teammates' faces.

Daniel winked at Sam, "Though we have a scientific reason for it."

"Sometimes there is no explanation," Asatay replied grimly.

Jason wanted to ask what that meant because Asatay's tone meant there was a story there, but he had a feeling the subject was off-limits. Instead, he asked the question Lin had instructed. "Grandfather said I now had his gifts. I have no idea what he was talking about. He said you would know."

Asatay looked surprised. He wondered why Jason didn't know, but Lin must've had his reasons for not sharing the knowledge before now. "You have no idea? He never shared that with you?"

"No, he had no reason to," Jason assumed. "I know he was intuitive. I know he had healing abilities. When I was living with him, he could figure out what was wrong whenever I got sick and how to cure it, whether it meant going to the doctor or something he could do himself."

"It was more than what you call intuition," Asatay said slowly, believing that Jason didn't understand. "What do you believe he meant by gifts?"

"I don't have a clue, Asatay. Whatever his shamanic abilities were, I never saw anything... out of the ordinary," Jason answered promptly.

"And it bothers you to have something you do not understand?"

"No," Jason said, shaking his head emphatically. "It bothers me not knowing what it is. In knowing what it is, I can't be surprised, taken off-guard. If I begin to experience one of these gifts when I'm around an enemy, and I have no idea what's happening, it may cost me my life."

"I understand," Asatay said solemnly. "The gifts he spoke of are instinctual, part of nature. What you assumed about intuition is correct, though his senses were further enhanced by them."

Daniel snorted.

"I said something funny?" Asatay asked.

"It's just that a friend of ours gave me a gift that can be described in exactly the same way and it isn't what I would call a gift. A useful tool, perhaps, but I would rather have lived without it."

"May I ask what it is?" Asatay said, curious.

"Empathy," Daniel replied with a short sigh.

Asatay's frown now turned to one of confusion. "I do not understand. We can all sense what others are feeling."

Daniel made a face, almost a grimace. "This is different. I can _feel_ what you're feeling."

Asatay stared at him, eyes widening, as were the eyes of the Elders at the table. "You feel what we feel?"

"Yes, and most of the time, it's not a strong feeling. I can't read your mind, but I can tell if someone is directing hatred toward me and I know when someone's lying. I also receive messages that tell me when something or someone is in danger."

"How?" Asatay asked.

"I don't know how."

"My apologies," Asatay said, embarrassed. "I mean to ask, what happens when you know this?"

"Oh, right. Well, a voice inside my head tells me, only it's not exactly in words. More like the feeling of a word. I think my brain translates the warning into words so I'll understand." Jack gave Daniel such an admiring look that Daniel gently stepped on his toe. "Stop it," he whispered.

Not a bit bothered, Jack said, "Sue me."

Asatay finally heaved a sigh of frustration, eyeing Jason with regret. "I see. Jason, this is not what Lin experienced."

"I didn't think it was."

"Lin mentioned feelings, but he said he could feel it if something bad was going to happen. Or something good. If I was supposed to divine what he meant, I failed."

"What would you have thought?" Jason pressed.

"I do not like to guess--"

"I know that, but I need some idea."

"I believe you already know," Asatay told him.

"He didn't tell me--"

"Did he tell you to listen to your dreams? To Raven?" Jason blinked at him, surprised, and Asatay nodded as if Jason had said yes. In a way, he had. "Use that as your guide."

Jason gave in, deciding he knew all he was going to. He looked down and edged the tattoo with the tips of his fingers. "Thank you for the salve."

"You are welcome. Remember, two weeks. Or until the paste is gone. Use many times every day."

Jack's radio abruptly startled everyone when it clicked several times. He turned on the button for full receive and pressed send. "O'Neill."

_"This is General Hammond, Colonel."_

All SG team members went tense. "Sir, is there a problem?" Jack knew Hammond would not be calling for an update.

_"I'm ordering all off-world teams to stay where they are, with the exception of SG-1 and 2. We need you back here as soon possible."_

Jason felt a sudden chill run down his spine and cutting in, he asked, "General, this is Coburn. Has something bad happened?"

Daniel felt a similar chill, surprised by the question. "You know something?"

Jason didn't answer but held up a hand, waiting for Hammond to answer.

_"Yes, Colonel, something's happened. I'm recalling you because I need yours and Doctor Jackson's assistance."_

"We'll be there in fifteen, General," Jack told him.

_"We'll be standing by to receive. Hammond out."_

Jason rose, giving Asatay a sad look. "I'm sorry."

"As am I, but we know your life, Jason. We were prepared for this. I hope you will come back to us soon."

Jason took Asatay's forearm. "I will try but I can't make promises."

**. .**

Ten minutes later, Jason was back in uniform--though he had a soft damp cloth wrapped over his shoulder and chest like a bandage. He was thankful for that because the ointment or salve would've just stained his shirt and the shirt would have done nothing more than irritate the tattoo. Jason had a feeling he'd be wearing a large cotton bandage like this until the pain subsided. At least he had plenty of salve to help with that, and he had them tucked away in his trousers' side pockets.

The others had already stepped through the gate and Jason was left to say his goodbyes alone. He stood on the platform with the gate's open wormhole glowing behind him and gave Asatay a hug. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he said, "Say another goodbye for me, and thank you and everyone for all they've done for him."

"There is no need," Asatay said.

"I wish I knew what he gave me," he said, feeling nervous.

"Blessings, Jason. Blessings," Asatay said, then kissed him on the cheek and pushed Jason toward the gate. "Go. Fix what is wrong, and take care of yourself."

"You, too," Jason said, back-stepping to the gate, regret and guilt in his steps, and with a final turn, disappeared into the blue.

**~**

Hammond hadn't explained anything as yet, deciding to wait until both teams finished their post-mission check-ups. He followed them to the infirmary, however, making sure that no one else told the two teams what was going on.

Jack found it annoying. "Sir, any light to shed?"

"After the infirmary, Colonel," Hammond said, tight-lipped as ever.

Whatever else Jack had been about to say was cut off by Janet's voice as she ordered Jason to remove his shirt. She didn't trust other healing methods until she saw for herself. Hissing between clenched teeth, she examined the 'wound,' forcing Jason to leave off his shirt and let the skin get some air.

"Moisture may feel better, but it's not a good idea. Now, where's the salve?" Jason handed her a jar of the substance, which Janet reapplied to his tattoo. Keeping the jar to run tests on it, she nodded with satisfaction as she examined the tattoo more thoroughly. "I'll apply a dry dressing over the salve but no more damp cloths, Jason. I'm surprised at you, you should've known better."

It wouldn't have been for very long anyway, Jason told himself as he stayed silent, giving Janet no argument. She walked away, sending her corpsman and nurses in to take blood.

Satisfied that the medical staff was finished taking vitals, Hammond stepped forward.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Colonel Coburn," he told Jason.

"Thank you, sir."

"How'd it go?"

"As expected, sir," Jason said shortly, knowing what was coming. Thankfully, there were only a few other people in the ward besides the two teams and the attending staff of nurses and corpsmen.

"How's that tattoo feeling?" Hammond asked.

Jason could see that the General wished it hadn't happened. "Sore, sir."

"It looks it," he said. "I'm in no hurry for the report, Colonel. Tomorrow or the next day will be sufficient."

Jason sensed it was because there were larger issues at stake. Before he could ask, Jack--sitting on a bed behind Jason--practically yelled when he raised his voice and asked, "You wanna take picture, Sergeant?" He was speaking to the corpsman supposedly taking Jason's blood but was staring at his tattoo.

"Sorry, sir," the corpsman said to Jason.

"Don't worry about it," Jason whispered conspiratorially. "How's it look?"

The corpsman smiled. "It looks _really_ cool, sir."

Jason looked down. "Yeah, it does, but truthfully, I'd rather have gone without." He looked up and winked at the corpsman. "I'm more a jewelry kind of guy."

"Which, if you'll pardon the comment, is also against regulations," Hammond told him.

"Is it, sir?" Jason asked, not being serious. "Seems I don't remember the regulation saying anything about navels." Or cocks, for that matter, but Jason wasn't going to say that one out loud.

"Careful, Colonel," Hammond warned, containing his amusement. Barely.

"Yes, sir."

"Verdict about the tattoo, Doctor Fraiser?" Hammond asked finally.

She walked over with a collection tray for the blood samples and placed Jason's four test tubes inside. "It's cleanly done, there're no signs of infection, and it won't interfere with his duties."

"Do you want our reports in a few days too, sir?" Daniel asked.

"That'll be fine, Doctor."

Hammond looked at Jack, his expression grave. It was then that Jack realized how somber everyone else was, too. There wasn't the usual chit-chat between the nurses or Janet's sarcastic quips about not having anyone to sew up. The pit in Jack's stomach grew.

"What's happened, sir?" he asked.

Hammond's hands fidgeted, which only made the tension worse because it meant that he had troubling news, not just bad. Not that bad was troubling, but it meant something unusual.

He was interrupted by the arrival of two people from Security, Sergeant First Class Cari Carmichael and Lieutenant Adam Pederson. They were also Jason's friends, especially Cari--whom he'd introduced to Alex a few years before. Jack knew that Jason was still disappointed their relationship hadn't worked. As much as he liked being with Alex, he would have liked them both happy and together, too.

"Cari, Adam," Jason greeted as his body tensed by the appearance of the top two security people.

"Colonel," she greeted formally in front of Hammond.

"Tell them what's happened," Hammond told her.

She took a deep breath as she and Adam exchanged glances. "Okay. Three hours ago, Lieutenant Pederson and I were making our usual security checks before starting our overnight shift. You know how that works," she said, eyes falling on Jack, who nodded. "We stay in the security room and call up the monitors for the appropriate floors as the teams radio in."

She paused, and shifted a little. The glare of the overhead lights moved off her face and it was then that Jason could see how pale she looked. Like she'd had a fright.

Pederson took up where she left off. "We'd gone through all our team checkpoints, leaving the personnel floors for last. Team Seven, comprised of eight men, is assigned to those floors, levels 12 through 15, and they sent in their reports floor by floor, starting with the 12th. They were part of the way through level 15 when the two men who'd been checking C Wing radioed in that there was a problem."

Adam remembered the words used by Lieutenants Paul Gibbs and Travis Buchanan. They hadn't said there was a problem but had yelled into their radios.

"They found a man dead," Cari said, showing a strained smirk. "We called General Hammond and requested lockdown. Adam and I then went up to 15 to investigate." Cari visibly shuddered. "We don't have a sophisticated Crime Scene Unit so Doctor Fraiser assigned her pathologists and one forensics man up there to get all the evidence they can while our own people take the usual fingerprints and photographs. It's a slow process and they're still working at it. Should be done in a few more hours."

"Who was it and what happened?" Daniel asked. He didn't need logic to tell him she'd been scared shitless. He could feel it coming off both her and Adam.

"Lieutenant David Hill, second in command of the armory, was murdered in his room approximately eight hours ago," Janet told them. "I was here already so I did a cursory judgment, but I called the base hospital's forensic pathologist, Major Twyla Randolph, to double-check the findings and do an autopsy once the body was photographed. She's worked on homicides before so she knows what to look for outside of the usual."

Daniel knew Janet was leaving out details. "Janet, how'd he die?"

Before she answered, Jason's hand went to his temple, fingers pressing hard, then rubbing slowly. She stared at him and instantly went into Doctor mode.

"Jason?" she started but he cut her off.

"He was nearly decapitated, wasn't he?" he asked. Janet's face blanched, as did Cari's and Adam's. Hammond's just went blank.

"How'd you know that, Colonel?" Hammond asked.

"I..." Jason started, then looked around the room at the faces of people he didn't know. What he was going to say would spread faster through the base than a virus would. He gave Hammond a look and the General got the point.

"Doctor Fraiser, I'm going to have to ask all medical personnel to leave the immediate area, excluding yourself."

She nodded and waved her staff out of the ward. Making sure the doors were closed, she returned, hands in the pockets of her doctor's coat.

"Thank you, Doctor," Hammond said, then turned his attention back on Jason. "Continue, Colonel."

Jason sighed, giving everyone a look in the eye before he explained. "I've been having dreams, sir." At his words, Jason could see that Hammond didn't want to believe that _mumbo jumbo_ , regardless of the other strange things he's seen.

"I can confirm that, sir," Daniel put in. "Because we spend a lot of time together, sleeping over at his house or mine, I've been around during a few of these dreams he's had. They wake him up in the middle of the night."

"Are you sure it isn't just the post-traumatic stress from Baal's kidnapping?" Hammond asked.

Jason sighed. He'd wanted to tell his dream to Daniel and Jack in private, get their opinions on what it meant, hoping that they'd see something and tell him it wasn't what he _thought_ it meant. He'd had no intention of telling Alex he was in the dream, but considering what had happened...

"Sir, it goes like this," and he explained everything, from the raven to Alex's warning.

"How long ago did you have this dream?" Hammond asked.

"Today, sir," Jason said quickly. "During my dream vision. But sir, this is the sixth time I've had this dream."

"Has it changed?" Teal'c asked.

Jason didn't understand why Teal'c was asking. "Why?"

"The mind works in mysterious ways and sometimes lets us know things in advance. It rarely tells us all the facts we need or in the way events would occur in real time."

"Oh, I gotcha. No, Teal'c, the dream hasn't changed at all. It's always the same."

Hammond just shook his head. "This is..."

"Weird?" Jack finished.

"That's one word for it, Colonel," Hammond replied. He didn't know _what_ to make of it, frankly, but he wasn't about to ignore it, not after all the other weird shit he'd seen in the last eight years. "Then my asking for your assistance is doubly important, since you seem to have extra insight."

"About that, sir," Jason said. "What could I possibly _do_? I don't know anything apart from that dream and I can't think of any way I'd be able to help."

"Dr. Greta Larsen, our new Base Psychologist, reminded me of your doctorate in _criminal_ psychology."

"Yes, sir," Jason drew out, waiting.

"You might be able to help us determine what kind of person we're dealing with and where to look, so I want you to collaborate with security on what to look for. In short, create a working profile."

"After one death?" Jason sputtered. "There's no way." At Hammond's stare, he immediately backtracked. "Sorry, sir, but it requires a painstaking analysis of evidence, finding patterns, and one murder leaves damn few--"

Hammond held up a hand, stalling Jason's reply. "Any help would be good, Colonel."

"Yes, sir."

"In the meantime, I want you to go with Doctor Jackson." He turned to Daniel. "I asked for your help, Doctor, because of your empathic ability. I'd like you to go through the area with Coburn and Carmichael. If there is anything useful that you can learn to help us track down this person, I'd like to know. We need all the help we can get."

"I'd like to go with him, sir," Jack said quickly, and Sam and Teal'c looked expectantly.

Hammond sighed. "Very well."

"Sir, could we--" Alex began.

Hammond held up a hand. "They beat you to it, son. You and the rest of SG-2 can help by assisting Pederson and the rest of security in doing a search of all offices and quarters. The other SG teams that are currently on base are already helping in that regard."

"Sir," Jack started. "I hate to say this but..." Jason was nodding, knowing what he was gonna say.

"What if the killer is one of us?" Hammond asked, having thought of that already. The room went quiet as astonished stares greeted him and Hammond again shook his head, unable to give Jack a good answer. "For now, we have to go on the assumption that it isn't. Suspecting everyone isn't a tactically sound move _but_ we will all be vigilant and alert."

As if on cue, the double doors behind them opened quickly and three SFs came striding in. The man in the center had a pale look and Daniel could feel the emotional let-down from everyone. They might be guessing, however, what the man was there to say, but Daniel didn't have to. He felt the horror from the man's mind and groaned out loud.

"There's been another one," he said quietly.

Hammond turned his head swiftly from Daniel to the SF, Lieutenant Bridges. "Lieutenant?" he asked.

Bridges had heard Daniel and he nodded. "Sir, he's right. There's been another. Level 12, room C212. Civilian. Doctor Michael Wiseman, physics assistant."

Daniel blanched, but attention on him was diverted when Sam groaned, hand over her brow. Teal'c put a hand on her shoulder.

"Cause?" Jason asked, his spine growing rigid.

Bridges swallowed. "Same as the first one, sir."

Jason sighed, copying Sam as he placed a hand over his brows. "Christ."

"Colonel?" Hammond asked.

Letting down his hand, Jason was hoping his dream was an exaggeration but it didn't seem as if it was. "We might have a pattern killer. They repeat their kills to meet whatever psychotic needs they have. Revenge is usually the motive, but it doesn't need to be anything tangible. It could be motivated by simple hatreds. If he's out to get rid of one group, then when that group's gone, he'll probably stop."

"Probably?" Hammond challenged.

"Probably. Hopefully," Jason mused. "We just have to figure out what the men have in common so we can try to head off the next kill."

Hammond nodded grimly as he waved the nurses back in to finish taking the samples. Cari and Adam waited by the doors, taking the opportunity to issue orders to the other security men, directing them to ask if Mark or David had any enemies, if anyone had heard anything troubling.

Finished with the nurses, Alex, Al and Connor went off with Pederson and two SFs while Jason, SG-1, and Cari boarded the elevator for the personnel levels. When the door closed and the elevator began to move, Daniel stepped in front of the doors and cleared his throat. "There's a commonality," he said solemnly.

Jason had been lost in thought and his head whipped up, eyes wide. "What?"

Jack's belly felt like lead. Daniel's expression said he knew something none of them would like. "What is it?"

"They were both gay."

**. . .**

Too stunned to have said anything, no one had a chance to ask Daniel how he knew that before the elevator opened up on Level 15. They got out and made their way down the hall, and as they moved, Daniel put his senses on alert. It was difficult to filter out the background noise from the emotions of his lovers and friends. Everything was as tightly strung as a piano wire.

Rounding the corner and entering the C-wing corridor, foot traffic cleared. Jack seized the opportunity. "How do you know they were gay?"

"They've both been here a while," Daniel explained, voice low. "Before Sam got her promotion. When I had the time, I'd go to this club outside the 'Springs called _Arkadia_." At Jack and Jason's significant looks, which Cari missed, Daniel added, "No, we never hooked up. Just shared some drinks and talked."

Sam pursed her lips, thinking over what Daniel said. "So, if it's not a coincidence, then the man who killed them is... what? A homophobe?"

"Is it likely to be a man?" Teal'c interjected.

"Yes," Jason replied tightly, controlling his emotions very carefully so Daniel wouldn't pick up on the extreme anger rising inside him. "Women tend to kill at home, or on home turf." At Sam and Cari's slightly indignant looks, he shrugged and raised his hands. "Don't kill me for quoting statistics. If you'd like this to be an equal opportunity part of life, you're in for a disappointment."

"Don't go there," Cari warned him. "This killer is very likely a man, but I'll concede that it could just as well be a woman. Either way, what we know so far, or rather, what I know, is that these killings are passionate."

"Isn't all killing passionate?" Sam asked, frowning.

"She's right," Jason said quickly. "And no, all methods of killing vary and some are very cold-blooded, almost clinical. This doesn't feel like that. It feels up close and personal. Not like an executioner who's putting bullets in people's heads and crotches like that Son of Sam bastard. Doing something by hand, whether slitting a throat or by strangulation, is considered a passion crime, apart from motivations and signature response."

"So that might mean that the killer is deep in the closet," Daniel added, thinking mostly out loud.

Surprised, Jason said, "It's plausible that this could be someone who's repressed his homosexuality, but I doubt it." He paused, giving Daniel an admiring look.

"What?" Daniel asked.

"Look at you, thinking like a detective. Are you sure you're not Agatha Christie under that geek suit?"

Rolling his eyes, Daniel said, "Speak for yourself, mister. Besides, it's not a long stretch between science and detective work because they both employ the same methods to get a result."

"Touche," Jason answered with a grin. He was about to discuss the subject of the murderer's identity when Daniel stopped suddenly, forcing Jack, Sam, and Teal'c to step around him. "Daniel?"

"What's wrong?" Cari asked, looking up and down the corridor as if she'd missed something other than the SFs stationed there. Seeing her look, the men closest to them at both ends of the corridor went on alert. She waved them down, then turned her gaze expectantly back to Daniel.

"Jus' sec," he said almost too low for them to hear and placed his hand on the wall, sliding it along as he began to walk again. Slowly, cautiously. "Anger," he said, but he wasn't talking to her. He glanced at Jason, then Jack. "You can't feel it?"

They didn't, but Jason was glad Daniel had distracted him from his own feelings or he would have picked up on him, not someone else. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, extending out his feelings, opening himself, and... _There_. He felt _something_ , then like a sudden attack, his head was lanced with pain. He squeezed his eyes more tightly shut and groaned, fingers going to his temples to rub the pain away.

"Jason?" Daniel and Jack asked.

"Headache," Jason said, waiting. A few moments later, the pain subsided, leaving behind a thumping as his pulse quickened. "Damn that was weird."

"What the hell just happened?" Jack asked.

"Knife in the temple. Been getting them since we came back from Baal, but more often since the ceremony earlier. I thought it was a bad reaction to the resin incense or maybe the salve."

"Did you tell Janet?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, I told Janet. She told me to take some ibuprofen or aspirin and to let someone know if they continue or if the pain gets worse."

"Well... they're continuing," Daniel said, worried.

"No, not really, Daniel. I think she meant in frequency or over a period of time, like a couple of days." He shook his head, wishing the weird sound echo in his ears would go away. It was as if someone had turned on a microphone to pick up all sounds and amplify them. This was new, and if it didn't go away, he'd have to go back to the infirmary.

Daniel said something, then Jack, Teal'c, and Cari, and their voices seemed to grow distorted, as if their sounds reverberated back and forth from the others. Jason moved his hands from his temples to his ears and caught the concerned looks as he tried to make the weird echo stop. They went quiet, looking worried and expectant, and the noise stopped.

Jack opened his mouth to speak but Jason held up a finger to his lips, wincing beforehand, preparing for the near-painful sounds to start up again. He began to wonder if this was some sort of _gift_ , and if so, was it designed to test his hearing or make it more acute. He hoped neither because he didn't see the usefulness of having sounds echo as if bouncing off walls.

Testing, he tapped the wall beside Daniel. It made a rat-a-tat sound that repeated and faded. Sighing, he closed his eyes and tapped again. The sound was fainter now, to his relief. He tapped several fingers now and the repeating nearly stopped. With even more relief that he wasn't suffering something debilitating, he knocked with his knuckles.

Expecting to get nothing, he was surprised when a door opened ten feet in front of the group. A blonde head stuck out. Airman McPherson narrowed her eyes at them. "What's going on, sir?" she asked Jason.

"Investigating a crime, airman, go back inside," Jason said tersely.

"Sir," she said and disappeared quickly.

"You're so charming," Daniel quipped.

"Well, you try behaving normally after suddenly feeling like a bat."

"A bat?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Jason nodded, looking around. "Sounds were bouncing off everything, giving a weird echo and it reminded me of the echo relocation bats use. It's died down but my head is still thrumming."

Jack sighed. "Time to go back and see, Janet, Jason."

Jason wanted to shake his head no, but didn't dare. Not because he didn't want to contradict Jack in front of Cari but because he was afraid the movement would cause that weird echo again. He felt... _weird_ was the word. "Jack, if it persists, I'll go. Let's just get this done because this is more important, okay?"

With another sigh, Jack turned to Daniel. "So, what were _you_ feeling?"

Daniel was more concerned with what was up with Jason than the feelings of residual anger he'd picked up from the wall. He knew what Jason was talking about; he could feel the impact of it from Jason's mind, from thought and emotion. He also picked up a warning, but with no voice this time. _Danger_. _Well, no shit,_ he thought. The feelings weren't telling him anything he didn't already know.

"Just anger," he said, carefully looking at Jason's face, gauging his wellness. "A lot of it, I don't know why." He paused, looking at them all singly, then said, "I'm getting warning, redundant as it is."

"Referring to what?" Teal'c asked.

"Just a warning, Teal'c, like I've gotten before. Just telling me there's danger." He put on a face of frustration. "Like we didn't already know that."

"Maybe it's not that," Sam said, brows wrinkled in concentration.

"I agree," Cari chipped in. "Maybe it's the location. Danger meaning that we're close to the killer."

"I don't see that as a problem," Daniel said, shaking his head, even though he felt they made sense. "If the killer _were_ close by, they wouldn't strike at any of us because we're not alone and they'd get caught easily."

Cari pursed her lips, then called out to the SF who stood guard some thirty yards to their right. West, she thought, since the main corridor for C Wing ran East-West. "Sergeant Devine? Were all these rooms searched?"

"Yes, ma'am," he called back.

"Thank you, Sergeant," she dismissed. "Well, there goes that theory."

"What?" Jack asked.

"Thought maybe the danger signal Daniel felt was that one more body was left undiscovered."

Jack sighed, becoming increasingly impatient. Whoever was lurking about killing gays-- _supposedly_ , he corrected himself, because it was a theory only, even if it was a plausible one--standing around like a mob wasn't doing them any good. They were close the central intersection, so here was as good a spot as any to split up.

"Alright, no sense in us staying within the group. It's taking too long."

"So we split up," Cari said, nodding.

"Exactly," Jack replied. He narrowed his eyes at Jason, whose brow was also lifted in query. "If Lin gave you any sort of empathic traits, let's take advantage. You and Daniel should split up, widen the scope of these... feelings or whatever. You and I and Teal'c will head down the west end of the corridors on this level and the next two up. Daniel, you, Carter and Carmichael will do the same for the east." He looked at his watch. "We'll meet back at the security office in... thirty."

"Agreed," Carmichael answered and the group split up.

As Jack, Jason and Teal'c headed down the west end of the corridor, Jack found Jason looking at him. "What?" he asked.

"Keeping an eye on me?" Jason asked, lips twitching as he geared up for a mock-argument.

"No, I meant what I said. Though you do need supervision," Jack said, catching on quickly.

Jason thought up a nasty reply when there came a strange sound, like the tinkling of water one hears when a fountain is running, or when near a small brook. He slowed his step, forcing Jack and Teal'c to do the same.

"Do you sense something, Colonel Coburn?" Teal'c asked.

"Didn't you hear that?" Jason asked. The sound was there, but fading now.

"No," Jack drawled, quickly exchanging looks with Teal'c. "What'd you hear?"

Jason's mouth dropped open slightly as he started to speak, then simply shook his head. More from disbelief than anything, Jason strained his ears for more, but there was nothing. He was starting to get an idea of what was happening, but he had to wait to be sure.

"Jason?" Jack said, backhanding his shoulder. The left one.

Jason winced and brought his hand there. "Jeez, Jack."

"Sorry," Jack said guiltily. "But you weren't answering. What'd you hear?"

The twinges of pain were receding quickly and Jason dropped his hand, sliding it into his pocket. He cocked his head slightly, listening again. "Water. Running water. Not like a faucet or water through pipes but more like a fountain or brook."

"Do you still hear it?" Teal'c asked.

"No, it's gone."

"Let's keep going," Jack suggested. "Nothing we can do about your hearing."

**. . .**

Thirty minutes later, the two teams regrouped in the security office. Nothing more had been gleaned.

"Aren't we supposed to have a crime scene unit taking care of this? Something from the Judge Advocate's office, for instance?" Daniel asked as he sat down at the security console left of the door.

Cari made a face of disgust. "We're on our own because of the top secret nature of the Stargate Program. It was decided that we could handle the crime internally because there wasn't enough time to do fuller background checks on the JAG department."

"In other words," Jack elaborated, "the brass didn't want anyone from the law offices having a peek down here."

Cari pointed a trigger finger at him. "Got it in one, sir."

"So what do we do with the guy once he's caught?" Daniel asked.

"That's a different story," Jack said, experienced already in knowing what would happen. "It'll be exactly like Makepeace and others. The guy will have a closed trial and the transcripts will be kept secret. The lawyer they choose for him will be someone handpicked to represent his interests. All evidence will be collected and shipped out, taken to the appropriate vault and sealed until such time as the Stargate Program is made public. If then."

"So... now what? We go write up our reports?" Jason asked.

"Yeah," Jack replied with a nod, heading for the door. "I'll give Hammond an update, then we'll meet up upstairs for chow. After that, I suppose the only thing we can do is wait." He paused, giving the airman manning the security monitors a thorough look, then pointed at Cari. "Carmichael, I don't want anyone going anywhere alone. That includes you and your teams. I'll have ours double up as well as all the support personnel. Pass the word. No one, and I mean no one, goes anywhere alone. Even into the next room."

"Good idea, sir," she replied.

After they left, Sam and Teal'c separated from them at the elevator, getting off at Level 21 to check in with Janet. They'd use the stairwell to get to Sam's second lab on level 20. When Daniel didn't press the button for level 18, Jack lifted an eyebrow.

"We'll escort you to Hammond's office," Daniel told him, reminding Jack that none of them were to be alone.

Jack nodded, thinking about how best to communicate. "Fine. I'll inform Hammond of my order so he can make it more official, then I'll ask that we gear up with weapons and radios so that no one is out of touch."

"And what if the killer is a member of security?" Daniel asked.

"Then he's already armed," Jack reminded him.

"Oh, right," Daniel said, feeling stupid.

"I'll locate my team to pass the word," Jason said. "Have them pair off, Alex with me. Till then, you two are stuck with me."

"Jason," Daniel said as the elevator doors opened.

"What?" Jason asked as they exited.

Daniel waited until they entered the briefing room. Eyeing the security guard at the other doorway, he lowered his voice. "What's with the anger?"

"What anger?" Jack asked, giving Jason a long look.

Jason cringed. "I'll talk to you about it later. It's just my reaction to the men being murdered because they were gay."

"But we don't know that for sure."

"I'm sure," Jason whispered back. "And whoever it is had better be caught soon."

Daniel said nothing because Hammond appeared at that moment. He and Jason waited through Jack's oral report, but Daniel had half his attention on Jason. His lover's tone had been a warning, not just a hope to catch the killer before another man died. Daniel made a note to find out when they had some time alone.

**. . .**

Jason sighed tiredly and closed the door to his quarters, locking it automatically. He started to say something as he unbuttoned his fatigue shirt but yawned widely.

"I take it you're tired?" Alex said. Jason eyed him, sitting in the chair by the desk, bare ankle propped on a knee, one arm lazily draped over the desktop. The man looked good sitting there in his t-shirt and shorts, but he looked just as tired as Jason felt.

"You set the alarm?" Jason asked, bypassing the usual answer and stating the obvious in return.

"Done," Alex grinned.

"Sleeping is gonna be challenging, if we don't end up bruising each other by morning," Jason told him, gesturing at the full-sized bed as he shrugged out of his shirt and carefully hung it up in the small closet. Alex smiled, not looking at him and Jason swatted his knee. "By elbow, not sex, filthy mind."

Alex snickered. "Sorry, couldn't help it. You open that door wide sometimes."

"I really do," Jason admitted as he took another blanket out of the closet and laid it on top of Alex's pillow. He then moved the blanket currently on the bed over so it covered only his half. Smirking at Alex, Jason laid the second blanket on his half. "This'll keep you from stealing."

"If we had a nicer chair, we could take turns sleeping on," Alex suggested, ignoring the blanket comment.

Jason smirked as he unbuttoned his trousers. "Forget it. Get in bed, Alex."

Alex pulled down his side of the blankets. There was... no sheet. "Jason, where's the sheet?"

"I don't have another one so I removed it. If poor baby can't sleep without a sheet, you'll find it in the bottom drawer of the dresser."

Alex was going to get the sheet out of spite, but decided that since Jason didn't have those Army wool blankets, but Air Force cotton instead, he'd be fine. Besides, the room was warm enough.

"Alex, get your ass in bed," Jason repeated.

Smiling mischievously, Alex said, "I love it when you order me."

Jason knew he was joking, but Alex's tone wasn't altogether innocent of innuendo. He crawled into bed, bumping Alex in the chest with his elbow. "Sorry," Jason replied, but added, "Watch it," when Alex slapped at his arm, too close to his tattoo. Jason turned on his right side so his tattoo wouldn't get rubbed on and dropped his left arm on his waist. It felt weird; he was used to dropping his arm in front of him, but that would wrinkle the tattooed skin, and at the moment, that would hurt.

He closed his eyes, listening and feeling Alex shift around behind him. He knew without looking that Alex was also lying on his right side, because Alex's breath now hit the back of his neck. He focused on his own breathing, trying to let the images behind his mind come unfocused.

He'd fallen asleep to images of Jack and Daniel but woke abruptly, roused by a scent, sharp and musky--the unmistakable smell of a man's underarm scent. Jason's body warmed with the beginnings of arousal and he opened his eyes. He'd moved partially onto his back and Alex now lay fully on his, but with his right arm up and over his head, exposing his armpit. He was still asleep, his breathing deep and even, if a little loud.

Jason began to roll on his left side, but the soreness from his tattoo took care of that idea. Instead, he compromised. He turned onto his side, but propped himself up on his elbow. He couldn't stay like that for very long, but long enough to indulge in a little Alex watching. And smelling.

Jason inhaled again and couldn't get over how strong the smell was. It wasn't stale or rank, it was his sense of smell. Somehow, it had intensified. It was then that Jason realized it wasn't just his nose, but his hearing as well since Alex's breathing shouldn't have been so abnormally loud. He hoped it was his grandfather's 'gifts' manifesting themselves, otherwise it was off to the infirmary.

Jason looked around, at the walls and the ceiling, listening for other sounds. He could hear footfalls outside, just a little too sharp against the concrete, as if the walls were thinner than they actually were. Jason wondered how he could use this so-called gift--if that's what it was--because if it didn't subside or he didn't learn how to mute it, the loudness of everything would drive him to wear earplugs all the time.

He wondered then if he could hear the killer through the walls. The walls weren't insulated enough and the concrete and fiberglass didn't absorb noise very well. Not necessarily a good thing for a killer because screams were easily heard, he mused.

Jason sat up at the thought. The screams _would_ be easily heard. So the killer had to have a jump on his victims beforehand. Which meant that he was either waiting for them and took them by surprise, or he was able to subdue them because they knew their killer.

That didn't make sense, given the new parameters of the victims' commonalities. The killer wouldn't be entertaining notions of having sex, even as a ruse. They wouldn't be able to pull it off. Which meant that the killer had access to the rooms. So the killer was either a member of security or someone with easy enough access to key cards that over-rode the ports.

Both scenarios of possible suspects were plausible. It wasn't a civilian, Jason knew that already. There was no rational reason for his knowledge, either. He just... knew. Another part of his gift, he assumed. So why couldn't his gift just lead him to the killer like a bloodhound on a scent trail?

And speaking of scents... Alex's scent once more distracted him, pulling him from his examinations, and Jason looked into Alex's face, finding him staring back at him. He grinned. "How long you been watching me?"

"A minute or so. How long have you been awake?"

"A few more."

Alex reached up with his right hand, the backs of his fingers touching Jason's lips. He looked wistful and Jason felt a surge of guilt. They didn't have much time left for this affair they enjoyed, though Jason didn't have a rational reason for thinking that, either. It wasn't that he sensed danger. Just that it was going to be over. The fact that he'd been thinking of it already probably had a lot to do with these thoughts.

Alex dropped his hand and pushed up on his elbow, his face nearing Jason as he moved. Without pausing or slowing down, Alex brought their lips together, and the kiss shocked Jason. Tastes and flavors were intensified. He was both sweet and savory and Jason suddenly ignored his sore tattoo as he leaned in and kissed Alex harder, pushing him onto his back, pressing him into the pillow, swallowing their combined spit and tongue-wrestling for more.

His arm shot out and landed his hand on the bed by Alex's shoulder so Jason could use that for leverage and keep his tattoo from touching Alex's warm skin. Mostly so he could concentrate more on the taste of him. He pulled back to breathe, to listen to Alex pant, then kissed him again, swiftly, deeply.

Jason had thought these heightened senses unbelievable... till Alex's fingers touched the waistband of his boxers. He couldn't describe the sensation of heat caused by Alex's fingers against the skin of his abdomen, or explain how it sounded to both hear and feel the brush of fingers against cotton.

Jason broke the kiss again and stared down into Alex's face.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked, brows knotting with worry. Jason looked alarmed.

"My senses, they're hyper-alert." He stared hard into Alex's eyes, then said, "Touch me."

As curious as Jason, though for different reasons, Alex slid his fingers under the elastic and took hold of Jason's half-hard cock.

Jason hissed inward and choked, "Stop!" Alex's hand was hot and electric and Jason's right hand gripped the bedsheet in a tight fist. "Shit," he whispered, eyes half-lidded as he fought the urge to groan. Loudly.

"That's amazing," Alex whispered back, and just as much as Jason was controlling himself, Alex was too, and again, for different reasons. He wanted to see Jason lose it. Just fucking _lose it_. And he would--if he could take steps to ensure mostly silence. He let go very, very slowly, then said, "Lie back."

Jason swallowed, heart racing as he fell back. "Fuckin' A." Alex sat up, staring down at him. Jason shook his head, not knowing exactly what to say. If Alex stroked him again, even once, Jason knew he'd have one of those rare spontaneous climaxes. He let out a short laugh, thinking how absurd that sounded. It had never happened to him. Four or five strokes, and after some seriously erotic foreplay, but _one_?

"Jason?" Alex asked. "Describe it for me."

"Everything is weird. All my senses are heightened. Hearing, scent, taste, touch."

"So you _don't_ want me to touch you, is that it?" Alex asked.

Jason picked up something in his tone and studied Alex's eyes. They still seemed their usual hazel brown, though Jason thought he could detect a flew gold flecks in there, but he knew that they were there already so it was probably his imagination. Which told him that his sight hadn't been affected. Yet. He had a feeling that whatever was happening was cumulative.

"I can't," Jason told him. "I'll let everyone within hearing range--"

"Not if you bite into the pillow." Alex's pupils dilated at the sudden idea he had.

"Maybe," Jason answered quietly. For the first time in a while, the idea of being restrained, however mildly, didn't send fear through him. Had the dreamscape helped him in some way? Perhaps. His only regret--which added more guilt--was that Alex wasn't Daniel or Jack. He swallowed quickly, looking up at the ceiling. The heightened senses hadn't muted any and there was a foolish fear that Alex could hear his thinking.

"Jason," Alex said in a low tone reserved only for sex. "Let me do something for you while this is going on. Clap your hands over your mouth, stuff a pillow in there, I don't care. Just let me."

Like Alex, Jason was inspired by an intensely erotic idea, only Jason was going to have his first. He pushed up and with both hands on Alex's shoulders, pushed him backward, head toward the foot of the bed. He dropped down to claim his mouth, moaning as softly as he could at the tastes that grabbed his senses.

Making it worse--or better--were Alex's responses; hands on his back, his abdomen, tweaking the right nipple and staying away from the left.

But those came in second to Jason's sense of taste. Sexual hunger took over and he hiked up Alex's shirt as he moved down his body. By the time he had Alex's shorts down his hips and his cock in his mouth, Alex was doing what he'd advised Jason to do: clamping his hands over his mouth. Jason was sucking his balls dry, torturing him with his mouth, causing an endless flow of pre-come till Jason finally let him come.

Jason couldn't believe the taste of him as Alex shot his load into his mouth. He drank and licked and sucked and was so involved with it that he wondered why Alex was pulling at his hair, his arms.

"Stop," Alex rasped, then sat up sharply and knocked Jason onto his back. From their crosswise place in the middle of the bed, Jason's legs were now over the side, feet touching the floor. Alex pulled up his shorts and flung off his tee, leaving it on the floor where it landed. It was soaked with sweat anyway. He wasn't going back to sleep with that on.

He swung a leg over, then purposely shimmied down Jason's hips and thighs as he straddled him and pulled down his shorts. "My turn," Alex told him, before sliding completely off Jason's legs so that he could kneel between them and give him back what he'd just gotten.

In minutes, he had Jason sweating, panting, biting on his pillow using his right hand while his left fisted the bedcovers. Alex then took his balls into his mouth and twisted his dick in just the right way, the right strength, bringing him right to the edge. What made Jason come, and come hard, was when Alex pulled away from his balls, jacking his hand faster and faster, whispering, "I want you up the ass, Jason, hard, on one of those rickety tables in mess hall."

"Oh you bast--" Jason whispered gruffly before the pillow corner went back into his mouth.

It was several long seconds before Jason came back to himself. His hand groped for Alex, and he sucked in a breath when Alex kissed his way up his body before lying down beside him. "I really hope there's a use for these senses other than sex," Jason told him, "but right now, I'm so not complaining."

"And I'm so kinda jealous," Alex replied.

"Alex," Jason scolded mildly.

Alex sighed and got up off the bed to visit the john that Jason was lucky enough to have in his room. Not all quarters had them.

"Think that now that I'm a Major, I can get quarters with a bathroom?" he called out while he took a piss.

"I dunno," Jason answered, sitting up to check out his tattoo. The sweat made it sting so with a sigh, he got up and went into the bathroom. Sneaking behind Alex, he turned on the shower, making sure the water wasn't too warm. The water hit his fingers and made a little tingling sensation, but nothing to pause at so Jason ignored it. "Ask Jack. I suppose he might be able to bribe the supply officer with something."

He heard Alex snicker as he stepped into the open, walk-in shower, but forgot all about responding to it when the water hit his body. "Jesus Christ!" he yelled and jumped back, hitting the tile wall.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked, then remembered Jason's sense of touch. He cringed in sympathy, much as he could anyway, and pulled Jason out of the shower. "C'mon. I'll wipe you down instead."

"No, no, that'll be worse," Jason breathed. "Just... dial down the shower head, could you?"

As soon as it was turned to a small, soft spray, Jason moved back under, gritting his teeth as he rinsed off the salt from his sweat. His tattoo was especially sensitive and he quietly cursed his grandfather while the water rinsed it clean of grit. Stepping from the shower, he gestured Alex in after him.

Jason padded out of the bathroom to retrieve a jar of ointment from the dresser where he'd stashed it. "May as well take your time, Alex," he called out, "since I plan to air dry." He heard Alex snicker again and added, "Payback's a bitch, Alex."

"Hey, I couldn't help it," Alex defended. "What you said was funny."

"Yeah, well, when you find yo' ass naked in the middle of nowhere, we'll see what's funny," Jason grumbled, formulating a plan for sometime in the future.

"What?" Alex asked, not having heard.

Jason grinned to himself, then lied through his teeth.

**. . .**

In Jack's quarters, Daniel and Jack lay spooned together, wearing nothing but their boxers and dog tags. Jack shifted until his right arm rested under his head and over the pillow and his left arm draped over Daniel's waist. Like Jason's bed as well as others, the full size bed wasn't big enough but it would have to do.

The soft light of the small lamp was still on, and both men were thinking of the day's crisis, the unknown killer, and whether they'd find him before he killed again.

Daniel sighed again and Jack knew he was disappointed that his empathy hadn't picked up more than anger. "It'll work one way or the other, Daniel," he said quietly. Daniel made a non-committal noise, mostly to acknowledge Jack had said something. Knowing better than to argue with him, Jack moved past it.

"We should try to sleep," he said, voice rumbling and vibrating behind Daniel's left ear. Except Jack's mind wasn't on sleep, nor was it on anything else but the man in front of him.

"I guess," Daniel answered finally, then reached up and stretched across the table to turn off the lamp.

Once he was resettled and the warmth returned, Jack asked, "You tired?"

"Yeah, but my mind won't settle," Daniel answered.

Jack nodded, nuzzling Daniel's hair as he tightened his hold, hugging himself closer. Daniel's body was hot and firm, yet his ass was quite giving against his groin where Jack's cock nestled and began to stiffen.

Daniel grinned wistfully. "Funny how we can get it up here but not at home."

"We'll get there, Daniel. Just takes time."

Daniel sighed. "Was hoping we'd have that sorted on Diné."

"Yeah, me, too."

Daniel sensed Jack's mood and grinned because it matched his own--though Daniel was a little more specific with what he wanted and he could sense that Jack might be thinking of a slow wind-up. Fat chance. Daniel moved around till he was on his back, knowing that it wouldn't annoy Jack too much, then reached up and caressed his handsome face. "Fuck me," he whispered.

Jack stared down at him, startled at the abruptness of it. But it made him hard and like a viper, he struck, capturing Daniel's mouth, tongue diving in with ease, meeting its match. He took Daniel's hand and slid it down his body to his dick.

Daniel smiled through the kiss. Jack, man of few words, and sometimes, none at all. Copying him, Daniel moved Jack's hand to his own cock, then returned to Jack's. With comfortable familiarity and an urgent need, they stroked each other, and somewhere along the line, the passion increased and lust ignited, burning brain cells and conservative common sense.

Jack broke the kiss and nuzzled Daniel's ear, licking the shell.

"I have no lube," Daniel confessed.

Jack pulled his hand upward and squeezed. "I have a condom in my trousers."

The nice surprise made Daniel stroke Jack more firmly. "I love you."

Jack chuckled. "And I need to fuck you," he whispered gruffly, hips making his point as he rubbed his erection against Daniel's hip.

Daniel let out a heavy breath, the sound all the answer he would give Jack. "Who gets to--" he began, but Jack was out of bed like a lightning strike. Amused and excited, Daniel counted the seconds before Jack was back in bed. Shorts off. Daniel promptly removed his and took the condom from Jack's hand as he shoved Jack onto his back, covering him with his body, kissing him as he teased Jack's cock with his own, rubbing rhythmically.

Jack made a breathy, airy sound in place of a groan and wrapped his legs around Daniel's, then deftly turned them both over. Daniel laughed quietly against his lips, kiss broken. Having adjusted to the dark, he looked up into Jack's face and pushed him up, then slid the condom down over his cock.

Jack balanced his weight on his hands, looking into Daniel's face and loving the firm touch of his fingers as they teased and caressed circles around his balls before sliding up the shaft.

"Keep doing that and this'll be..." His words abruptly faded when Daniel leaned up and kissed him, licking over his lips before putting on a knowing smile and turning over. Jack's mouth hung open, excitement soaring as he watched Daniel rest on his forearms and spread his legs, ass muscles twitching in a 'come get it' attitude. He groaned, then spat into his hand and used it as prep over the puckered hole.

Daniel hugged the pillow to his chest and raised his ass, seductively purring, "Yes," at Jack's touch, repeating it when Jack guided his cockhead against the opening and pushed inside. Tight, Jack thought, and with hungry need, bit at the nape of Daniel's neck as he drove in deep.

Daniel moaned into the pillow, opening himself, slowly adjusting to Jack and Jack adjusting to him. When Jack began to move again, and pleasure swarmed through them both, he knew the adjustment time was over. There was no time for finesse, for special movements and long, teasing strides. And sometimes, even when they did have the time, all Daniel wanted was Jack to fuck him, hard and quick. Which was what he got just then.

Jack might not have Daniel's empathy, but he knew what he wanted. With his cock sheathed in Daniel's hot, tight body, he laid over him and wrapped his arms around Daniel's and the pillow. He snapped his hips forward in hard, short thrusts against Daniel's ass, establishing a ceaseless, deep rhythm, wishing he could do this forever. But they didn't have the time, especially not with the lack of lube. More than that, Daniel's body was drawing him in and bringing him close.

Jack felt his balls tighten, his body shudder, and with a harsh whisper said, "I love you," once more before thrusting extra hard and sharp, burrowing his face in the crook of Daniel's neck as he came. Pleasure shot through his body and he waited until most of the spurts had passed. With an extra shudder of pleasure, he withdrew and quickly removed and tied off the condom, dropping it to the floor before he turned Daniel over.

Jack knew he hadn't come yet and it's what he'd hoped for. Shaking with fading tremors, he quickly slid down his body, grabbing Daniel's hips and holding him down as he swallowed Daniel's cock and went to work driving him over the edge.

Daniel gasped, "Yes, Jack," and clutched the pillow under him. Jack's mouth was heaven and when he sucked and bobbed, Daniel rode with him, wanting so desperately to thrust, to fuck that gorgeous mouth. When Jack relaxed his throat and swallowed him, Daniel got his wish. Except it took only three thrusts. Three. Then his body was arching off the bed, Jack going with him, sucking hard and quick as he pulled the orgasm out of him.

Shaking from the pleasure, Daniel grasped at Jack's shoulders, wanting to kiss him, feel his body everywhere. Jack made it better as he moved up and settled between Daniel's spread legs, then attacked his mouth, dueling hungrily for his tongue.

Several long minutes passed before Daniel slowly broke away and rolled them over, resting his head close to Jack's, nuzzling his face. "Thanks."

"Backatcha."

They were quiet for a bit, with Daniel happy and satisfied. And thinking how he'd just cleared a troublesome hurdle. "This is the first time in two weeks that I didn't think of..."

Jack smiled and looked into his eyes, giving him a single nod. "Same here."

"I think we're finally getting over that bastard."

Jack nodded solemnly, thinking of Jason. "I hope Jace is, too."

Daniel sighed. "It's harder for him, having to deal with Alex seeing Jalen." Jack made a growling sound. "What?"

"We need to find him someone."

"Jason?" Daniel asked, brows raised high. He knew who Jack meant though and Jack leered at him because of the tease.

"You know perfectly well."

Caught out, Daniel stuck his tongue between his teeth and grinned like a kid caught in the cookie jar. "I know." His expression changed, however, quickly matching Jack's. "And I agree with you. Those diversionary fucks you set up were helpful but... Alex loves Jason, Jack. It's gonna be hard to find someone to take his place."

"I don't want someone to take Jason's place," Jack corrected. "I want someone to love Alex who can completely love him back."

Daniel smiled at the protective feelings Jack had for Alex, feelings he shared. "Agreed."

**. . .**

The next day, Jason took his team to the armory for what his men were starting to think of as Jason's favorite on-world activity: Weapons inventory and inspection.

Jack had decided to pull Daniel in to help him with paperwork, while Teal'c and Sam decided to help rearrange her lab to a more efficient working environment before they settled down to Sam's latest piece of research.

Al thought they had the better deal. He hated the smell of gun oil. Connor didn't mind it, but after a few hours, it made even his strong stomach a bit queasy.

As they worked, counting off serial numbers, checking cleanliness of both the real weapons as well as the working order of the Intars, Connor kept trading looks with Al as they watched Alex work next to Jason. They'd been wondering when would be the time to bring up their worries because eventually, that worry was going to give them both serious heartburn.

"You two going to spill it or do I need to test one of these Intars on you to make you talk?"

Connor cringed. Jason had noticed. He swore nothing got by the man. Clearing his throat, he looked at Alex, who'd taken that moment to stop and look over at him. Connor couldn't read the look in his eyes, but it was guarded, careful. Maybe even fearful.

Jason growled with impatience when no one spoke so he got up and shut the door to the armory. "Alright, it hasn't escaped me that something's wrong with our little quartet, so since we have the time and the privacy, we'll have this out. Right now." He sat on one of the stacks of P90 boxes and crossed his arms, staring at his three men. Alex was in the back row, Al and Connor in the front, both ends of which faced Jason's open part of the room. When his men didn't make any attempt to sit down, Jason snapped his fingers. "Now! Stop what you're doing, get your asses over here and pull up a seat, on the floor if necessary."

Reluctantly, they sat down, and at the end of their rows. Alex made no effort to join Al and Connor, which increased Jason's concern further because he'd been doing that since returning from Diné. It was time for Jason to find out why.

When Al said nothing, only giving him this cowardly look, Connor gave him a look of disgust. It seemed Al was leaving it up to him, so he cleared his throat and started.

"I wanna first apologize to Alex for what I'm about to say."

"What?" Alex said, panicking for no reason he could think of. Except what had happened on Diné. Was that it?

"Jason," Connor began, dropping the protocol. "We talked to Alex about what you told us."

"I figured you would," Jason said, waiting for more.

"And... we thought that maybe it would be okay if we asked him about..." Connor started.

"His relationship with Jalen," Al finished quickly.

"Then he got mad at us for it and stormed off," Connor followed.

"So we figured he couldn't be mad that you'd talked to us," Al went on, "so there were only two other reasons he could be mad."

"Either he thought we'd hate him for being gay, which would be totally unfair..."

"Or..." Al said, hesitating. "Or he hated the very idea of being suspected as gay, which would mean something worse in our book."

They'd rattled that off extremely fast and left Jason gaping at them. To his surprise, Alex was blushing but with fury, not embarrassment. He said nothing about that conversation and now Jason was growing angry. But something Connor said made Jason think. He should have seen this coming, but hadn't.

Alex's experiences pretty much forced him to think the worst. He wouldn't trust that Al and Connor would be okay with his being gay or bisexual simply because they were okay about himself being gay. He'd be wrong of course, but fear made people think the stupidest of things. Jason sighed, staring at Alex, then looked at Al and Connor. "Would you two do me a favor?"

"Anything," Connor said.

"Go grab us some sodas from the machine down the hall?"

Surprised, they got to their feet. "Do we take our time?" Al asked as they opened the door.

"No, I only need a minute."

When they were gone and the door shut again, Jason stared coldly at Alex. "What the fuck is the matter with you?"

Surprised and angry, Alex barked out, "Excuse me?"

"They've shown how trustworthy they are. Couldn't you take a leap of faith that they wouldn't shit on you?"

"It's none of their business."

"You lied to two of your closest friends, Alex. You should know they won't turn their backs on you."

"No, I shouldn't! I've had good friends like them before, Jason, but the moment they find out one of their friends is gay, then suddenly, everything is forgotten, including trust and respect. I can't stand the thought of seeing that look in their eyes every time they look at me. I can't."

"So my conversation with them didn't matter, I suppose?" Jason spat angrily.

"They weren't happy about being preached at, if that's what you mean."

"No one is," Jason ground out.

"You're different, anyway! You're not just their friend, Jason. You're their superior officer."

"It's the same fucking thing," Jason snarled at him. "They aren't two-faced people and you fucking know that! But you, you're making it worse."

"How?"

"How? Are you on drugs or something? They know you're mad and you're distancing yourself from them. _You_ , not them. If they hadn't trusted you, they would never have brought it up in the first fucking place. What's that tell you?"

"I don't mean the same to them as you do. It won't be the same when they find out."

"And what the fuck _ever_ gave you that idea? What?" Alex didn't have an answer, which bothered Jason more because it meant he was caving in to irrational fears. "For fuck's sake," he sighed and he ordered himself to remember patience. "Aside from the reasons regarding that Baal business, I told them because they came back. They wanted to serve with me. I had to tell them the truth because I respect them. Besides, we're a tight-knit team, so they know me. They've been suspecting my being gay since before that masquerade ball we had. They've been worried about me, remember? Trying to protect me, and _not_ just because I'm their team leader."

Alex had actually forgotten about that masquerade ball. He'd thought that because they knew about Jason, everyone else was suddenly suspect. It hadn't occurred to him that he'd given himself away. "How'd they even know I was sharing a room with Jalen?"

"Probably because they _saw_ it or heard Jacob talking. I haven't told them anything. But if you don't explain why you got mad at them, things will get worse. Don't do that, Alex. Don't shut them out."

"I can't--"

"Yes you can."

"They'll look at me different!" Alex shouted in panic. "I can't deal with that!"

"No, they won't! God, Alex, _think_! Would they act like they have toward me, all that protective shit, if they had _any_ of that turnabout hatred you're talking about?"

Alex didn't have time to answer. The door hissed open after the beeping from the key card access and Al and Connor returned. They handed out sodas and the sound of fizz filled the room for a few seconds.

"Well?" Jason said to Alex but he didn't speak. When Al and Connor said nothing as well, Jason made an angry growling sound. "Fine. Al, you're bunking with Alex. Connor, you're bunking with me."

"But..." Connor started to protest. They had a championship game of Doom going on, having made up their own rules of competition.

"But?" Jason asked.

"Nothing, sir. Never mind."

"Then let's get back to work," Jason said, picking up his clipboard.

Al and Connor stood up and started down their row again. Jason didn't even look his direction when he rolled his eyes. Would the man never admit who he was to his friends, even now? Looking down at his clipboard, Jason sighed and went back to checking off inventory.

Alex, however, wasn't concentrating on his work, despite how it looked. He was currently battling himself over what to say. He didn't _need_ to say a goddamn word, but something in Jason's scolding, honest words brought him up short, made him think. He too wanted to be honest, to test the mettle of his teammates, to challenge them, dare them to confront him.

With a vow to remind Jason at every opportunity about the wisdom in being honest after Al and Connor rejected him, Alex readied himself for the verbal assault he fully expected. He cleared his throat and said in a voice dripping with bitter sarcasm, "You want to know the truth? Fine, here it is. I'm not gay, but I _am_ bisexual. So, still respect me, like me, want to be on the team?"

Alex's gaze remained on the weapons above his head as he was supposedly checking off serial numbers. However, the florescent lighting let Jason see that his cheeks were dark pink. Jason wanted to go to him, put his arms around him, reassure him. _Then_ slap him upside his stupid, stubborn head.

Al and Connor exchanged looks of surprise and anger, then set down their inventory and rounded the row. When Jason looked over, he caught the expressions and knew they were pissed. Moving over quickly, he stepped between them before they reached Alex, his clipboard held out and blocking Connor's way.

With resolute insubordination, Connor shocked Jason by slapping the clipboard away from him. "I don't need to be held back, sir! What do you think's going to happen here, anyway?" His glaring gaze then went to Alex. "And you! Just... _What the fuck_!" and he backhanded Alex in the left shoulder. "After having _Jason_ tell us, our superior officer, you thought we'd treat _you_ differently? What the fuck's wrong with you? Are you _that_ big an idiot?"

"Apparently he is," Al said, having hung back to let Connor have a go, but now he came up to stand next to him. He held out his hand. Alex stared at it, then took it and Al squeezed it strongly, like he would shaking any man's hand, and let go. "My respect for _both_ of you countermands any of my personal beliefs. I can't do that _and_ believe the rampant propaganda. So my question to you, Alex, is do you actually think so fucking little of us?"

He surprised Alex, and Jason, because Al didn't swear that often. Alex couldn't think of anything to say at first. He was literally speechless and if he tried to talk, he'd choke up and act like pansy. He had no wish to perpetuate a stereotype--even if he was thinking he was one. He shook his head, answering Al's question.

"So, to answer you," Connor said, gripping Alex's shoulder and giving it a squeeze before he let go. "Yes, we still respect you and like you. Want to be on the team? Fuckin' A, Alex."

Alex blushed again, and it made his teammates grin their heads off. "We okay now?" Connor asked.

Alex could only nod.

" _You_ okay?" Al asked. Again, Alex nodded.

"Well, I'm glad someone around here is okay," Jason said dryly as he rolled his left shoulder. His teammates grinned at him before he turned away and went back to his work.

"Er... sir, could we keep our bunk arrangements?" Connor asked.

"Sure you don't wanna sleep with the new gay guy?" Jason asked, teasing Alex severely and on purpose.

"Don't be mean," Al said crossly.

Jason lifted an eyebrow, his eyes on Alex, not Al. "Am I being mean?"

Alex sighed. "Yes, you are. But I get why. Now, enough already, please?"

Jason desisted, and decided to go one further by spending the night with Daniel instead. Jack could calm Alex down better than he could anyway. Or at least distract him for a while.

 

 

TBC in part two


	2. Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continued from Part One.

Two days passed without incident and it was driving Jack crazy. Guilt crept in, with him half-hoping something _would_ happen so the nutcase could be caught and they could return to what passed for normal. He could tell that vigilance was starting to relax a little and he had to remind people that nothing had been solved, that their guards couldn't be let down for any reason.

It was almost lunchtime, and for the last hour, they'd taken a break from the mundane, makeshift work they'd created and gone on patrol, helping out security. Just in case, Jack had said by way of explanation, though it had been pointless, since Daniel, Jason, and Alex had agreed. Their two teams had split up, so Al and Connor were once again with Sam and Teal'c, and presently working from the infirmary level and above.

Jack and his colleagues moved through level 25, having just inspected the locker rooms before heading for the base gym.

Alex's stomach grumbled and Jack grinned at him. "My thoughts exactly."

"I wouldn't mind taking a bit of time here," Daniel said as they walked down the deserted corridor.

"Yeah, but we'll have to wait like everyone else," Jack answered.

The base gym had been placed off-limits in the mornings, giving security less to worry about. Jack, however, felt that they could use a break during the lockdown monotony as well as help out security, so he'd _volunteered_ them for patrol duty right before lunch.

"Well, maybe we can..." Jason said, his words fading as his step slowed. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and he had no idea why.

"Jason?" Daniel asked, sensing the alarm from Jason's mind. "What's wrong?"

Jason shook his head as if trying to clear his mind. He looked over his shoulder, unsettled. "You guys getting any weird vibes?"

They stopped several yards from the gym's entrance, looking up and down the corridor, ears straining. There were no sounds coming from anywhere, which was eerie in and of itself.

"That raven sense kicking up?" Jack asked.

Jason had confided his sudden increase of hyper-alert senses the morning after it had happened. Annoyingly, his senses had returned to normal by the time he'd informed Jack that they'd happened. He hadn't experienced a recurrence, either, so at that moment, Jason had no idea _what_ to think. If the senses weren't responsible for whatever was alarming him, what the hell was?

"I don't have a goddamn clue, Jack, and I'm getting awfully fed up with this shit. Maybe it's the stress of the murders, Lin's death, or that fucked up shit with Jalen, I don't know."

"Don't dismiss it just because you can't explain it," Jack said as he touched Jason's left shoulder, squeezing gently. "Deep breath." Jason complied. "Now, we'll find out when we find out, so just file this under pending."

Jason grinned, properly placed at ease. A little, anyway. "We've been doing way too much paperwork lately."

"That's a fact," Jack replied. He pursed his lips as he felt a dampness in the air, like someone had just turned on a humidifier. "Anyone feel that?"

"What?" Daniel asked.

Jack shook his head and gestured they move on. The moment they were within six feet of the gym doors, however, they felt the air become warmer, more humid--and there was no reason for it because the gym was supposed to be empty.

"That feels like it's coming from the showers," Daniel said.

Jack answered with a nod, hairs now rising on the back of _his_ neck. "They're not supposed to be in use."

"I hope," Jason began, "that this's nothing more than someone disobeying the memo."

"That's a helluva disobedience," Jack said as he assigned himself as point man and slowly swung open the left side of the double doors with his left arm. Viewing carefully, he took a step in, looked behind the door, then held the door open for the others to enter.

They entered the foyer and stopped in front of the small towel room that sat before them and separated the gym from the locker room and showers. To their left, the door that led to the gym and weight room; to their right was the door that led to the locker room and showers. Both doors were supposed to be closed and locked but the right door was ajar.

The moment the four men entered, they picked up an additional odor through the humid air. Semen. Steam filled the room thinly, thicker near the ceiling and over the tops of the lockers. It was as if there'd been twenty men in there in the last half an hour.

"Okay, this is wrong," Jack said. "Daniel, you picking up anything?"

"Only that smell," Daniel said. "But I'm getting the feeling I should be standing in a gay bathhouse, not the locker room on base."

The smell of semen became stronger as they closed in on the shower room and its entrance was obscured by thick plumes of steam. Jason froze, his nostrils flaring as pieces of the dream came back to him.

"Jason?" Daniel asked, picking up fear from him.

"In my dream, there was mist in the SGC halls, but what if it wasn't mist? What if it was actually steam?"

"Holy shit, Jason," Alex whispered.

Jack was suddenly glad of the sidearms he'd insisted everyone be armed with. He held up a finger before anyone said anything else, then pointed at himself and Daniel, then Jason and Alex, silently signaling they split up and flank the entrance to the showers. Proceeding accordingly, their noses wrinkled at the smell of watered down, stale ejaculate, stronger as they pressed against the frame.

Jason couldn't help but think of what Daniel had said about gay bathhouses. He'd been in more than a few in his life, places rank with the smell of chlorine, semen, and the only smell not present right then: sweat. What Jason couldn't figure out was why the smell was there at all. No one _dared_ do anything in _these_ showers, so if it wasn't a couple of irresponsibly stupid men, then it was something far more sinister. Maybe the semen was meant to cover up another smell?

The moment Jason thought it, another odor was picked up, and only after they'd stationed themselves outside the doorway--close enough now to pick up the scent masked by the stink of chlorine and semen: The sweet, metallic scent of blood.

"That's blood," Jack hissed and he bolted into the shower room, but halted two steps in. Daniel was right behind and nearly ran into him. He moved around him just as Jason and Alex came to a halt beside them.

Their gazes were fixed on the naked man tied up at the far left of the eight-man shower room, hands bound to the shower nozzle. The shower wasn't running, but the one next to it was, turned on presumably to mask the smells or to call attention to his presence. It was hard to tell.

They didn't dare walk in further because the blood was everywhere. The source was the deep slice at the man's neck, done in one neat and clean cut, and his entire front was painted from neck to feet. Behind him, the wall was decorated with splashes of color, and the tile floor was stained in a strange arc that swirled to the center drain. The blood's edges mixed with the water, making light and dark swirls and streaks.

Like an artist's rendering. Jason gasped, eyes glued to the morbid scene. Daniel turned to him to ask what prompted the inhalation, but Jack interrupted with sharp command.

"Everyone out," he said gruffly and backed away, stopping just past the last row of lockers. "Don't touch anything, though I doubt it'll make much difference, considering there are prints all over the place."

As he got on the radio and called Pederson, Jason stared at the doorway, gaze still fixed on the blood swirls and watery spatters, remembering his dream. It wasn't like his dream, obviously, but the art symbology was the same. The horror of it made him shudder.

"Jace?" Daniel asked again, placing a shaky hand on his shoulder. "What's going on?"

"It's just like my dream," Jason whispered. Then without warning, his anger rose and a sneer formed on his lips. "Look at this. This is deliberate, Daniel."

Daniel stared at him in surprise, unable to comprehend how or why Jason was feeling such... hatred. "What's the matter?" he asked, peering hard into Jason's darkly troubled eyes.

"We have to get this fucker, Daniel," Jason told him needlessly. It wasn't what he was thinking, however, and in a wise effort not to alarm Daniel further, he kept his violent thoughts to himself.

Jack had heard Jason's comments even through his conversation with Pederson. He focused on one word. "What did you mean by deliberate?"

"This is a staged scene, Jack. Just like my dream. A message. He's showing us his cards."

"And?" Daniel asked.

"It means we can set a trap." Except Jason wasn't thinking about capture and prison. He was thinking about putting him down, not away.

"Alright, let's talk about this outside," Jack ordered and turned and walked briskly away, expecting them to follow. In the corridor, he took a deep breath and bent over, hands on knees.

"You okay?" Alex asked, his own face pale.

"Fine," Jack said absently as he straightened back up. He was thinking about the scene, and what Jason said about a trap. He mulled it over in his mind, trying to think up the best way to create one. When he glanced at Alex and realized he was silently freaking, he reached out and took his elbow. Alex jumped slightly, then relaxed. "Deep breaths, Alex," he said quietly.

Jack regretted the last two nights spent with Alex, as nothing had happened between them and it seemed to him that something should have. Jack had his book and Alex had given up on his in place of the laptop and headphones, watching DVDs instead. Jack found it odd. This type of stress usually brought people closer and Jack couldn't help but wonder if Jason's distancing had something to do with Alex's lack of... interest. There was none of that in his eyes now, Jack thought, as he slowly removed his hand.

Alex flushed a bit, complying with Jack's suggestion, feeling better for his sympathy and not so stupid and weak for getting nauseated at the sight of that man. "It's not like I haven't seen blood before," he stammered. "I don't get it."

"Viewing a cold-blooded murder where you expect none is quite different, Alex," Jack told him calmly. "We expect to see blood during combat. Remember what it was like when you saw your first dead body in the field?"

"I heaved then," Alex admitted. "Offworld, I mean. Just went right over into some nearby bushes and tossed my breakfast. So yeah, point taken."

Jack shared one of his own first-time experiences with Alex as they waited nervously for security and forensics, but neither Jason nor Daniel joined in. Jason was too busy trying to analyze what he'd seen, comparing it to the strange dream and his instinct later, and it was bothering him a great deal.

He was so wrapped up in it, and Jack and Alex so involved with their own discussion, that no one noticed that Daniel had turned away from them, standing apart, looking rather green and wishing Jack and Alex would just shut the fuck up about the grisly subject. Not that seeing a murdered man was new for Daniel. It brought back memories of his own experiences, ones he had no intention of sharing, but that wasn't what was wrong.

Jack had been about to say something else when he finally noticed Daniel's demeanor and body language. He craned his neck, then walked around Alex and went over to him. When he placed his hand on Daniel's shoulder, Daniel jumped slightly, then looked embarrassed for having done so.

"Sorry, what's up?"

"That's my question," Jack said. Jason realized his own brooding had cut him off from whatever Daniel was going through and berated himself for it.

He joined Jack, and since no one was around but them, he reached up and brushed Daniel's hair with his fingers. "What Jack said."

"You're very quiet," Jack said with worry. "You okay?"

Daniel nodded. "Fine."

Jack and Jason knew better, having heard that answer many times, though Alex had no idea. "Was this your first one?" he asked, mistaking Daniel's mood.

Daniel shook his head. "No. Central America. Long time ago."

He was grateful he didn't have time to explain himself to his lovers or Alex because security and their chosen technicians and corpsmen arrived, hurrying out of the elevator at the end of the corridor and coming toward them fast.

Relieved of their temporary guard duty, Jack gestured at the elevator. "Let's go report to Hammond," he said. They got into the elevator and as the car moved down two floors, Jack and Jason watched Daniel, knowing damn well that things _weren't_ fine, and something told them that it wasn't seeing all that blood.

When the doors opened, and they made their way to Hammond's office for the impromptu report, Jack knew he had to get Daniel talking. Entering the briefing room, they saw that Hammond was on the phone. The General spied them and held up a hand that told them to stand by, he'd be with them as soon as the phone call ended.

Jack decided to put the spare moment to good use. "Daniel?" Daniel turned to him and Jack studied his enlarged pupils, indicating the wrong side of excitement. "Something about the dead man is bothering you." When Daniel still said nothing, he glanced at Jason for backup, then gave him a double take because Jason was giving Daniel a peculiar stare.

"Daniel--" Jason began, but Hammond interrupted them as he came out of his office.

The General gestured at the table and they all sat down, with Jack and Daniel to his right, Jason and Alex to his left. Jack gave Hammond a short report on what they'd been doing when they found the dead man, then everyone put in their two cents, including the thought Jason had about setting a trap. After ten minutes of discussion, it was Hammond's turn to notice that Daniel was troubled.

"Doctor Jackson?" Hammond asked, his tone gentle and concerned.

"Sir?" Daniel asked.

"You've been awful quiet, son. Is there something on your mind?"

Daniel couldn't think of anything to add for the time being. "No, sir."

"Something's obviously on your mind," Hammond prompted. Daniel didn't answer and that worried the General. In fact, it worried everyone else, too, and he could see it in their faces. Thinking Daniel was shaken up by what he'd seen, he said, "Look, you've all had a pretty bad scare, seeing something god knows we should never see. If you feel like taking the day off, then do so. I realize that there's nowhere to go, being under lockdown, but I'm advising you to get some rest, put your mind on something else for awhile." He took a breath as Daniel nodded, still not saying anything.

"Under the circumstances," Hammond went on, his voice getting that 'kindly father' tone everyone knew, "I'm having some additional weight equipment brought down and set up in the cargo bay on level 23. It'll give some of the personnel something to do, at least. Now, I'd like some input on exactly what we should to do bring this crisis to an end. Lieutenant Pederson said you had some ideas on the matter?"

Jack pursed his lips thoughtfully. "An inkling, sir, nothing more. I'd like to hammer it out first before I hit you with it."

"I'm not willing to put our people at risk, Colonel," Hammond told him severely.

"Yes, sir, but if you'll pardon me, we're already at risk. Sitting around waiting for this bastard to make a mistake is patently doing nothing and I can't sit around and do nothing. Colonel Coburn," and Jack nodded at Jason, "thinks that it's time to bait the murderer and frankly, I agree."

"You want to bait him?" Hammond asked Jason.

Jason gave him a short, serious nod. "This murder was..." He paused, eyeing Hammond carefully. Jason looked over his shoulder at the SFs marking the doorway and the stairwell. "Sir, could we speak privately?"

Hammond considered it, then with obvious reluctance, nodded crisply. "In my office, all of you." He turned and strode back into his office, waiting behind his desk until Alex, last one in, closed the door. "I don't like the idea that I can't trust my own security, Colonel."

"Nor do I, sir, but we can't talk in front of them," Jason said, glancing at the surprised looks on the others' faces. He'd been receiving a feeling of dread since discovery of the body and he knew Daniel was feeling... _something_. "Daniel, what did you feel when we were up there? I know you never said but didn't you feel... _anything_?"

Daniel frowned, thinking quickly, and aware that he couldn't take his time in front of the General. "I did feel something, Jason, but it was the same kind of warning I felt before so I didn't think it necessary to say anything."

"Please explain, Doctor," Hammond asked.

"Sir, in my opinion, getting a warning about 'danger' is redundant. It wasn't anything we didn't know already and since it wasn't anything new to report, I said nothing."

Jack shrugged. "He's right, sir. It wouldn't have helped."

"Very well. Colonel Coburn, explain how you feel that security can't be trusted?"

"Begging your pardon, sir, but it's not like that... exactly. We can trust Sergeant Carmichael and Lieutenant Pederson, but the others... I'm familiar with them, yes, would consider some of them acquaintances, but I don't _know_ them, sir. This killer is moving about too freely. That he was able to have the time to trap and stage his victim--"

"Hold on, Colonel. Do we know who it is yet?" Hammond asked.

"No, si--" Jack began but Daniel interrupted.

"His name is Brian Waters. _Was_ Brian Waters."

"No wonder he looked familiar," Jack said quietly, suddenly remembering like a flash of instant memory. "Sergeant, Signal Operations. Worked in the Control Room for a while before moving to one of Carter's research labs five years ago. He's been here from the very beginning of the program."

"That's him," Daniel answered with a sigh.

Hammond's frown deepened. "I remember him." With a deep, regretful sigh, he said, "Sorry, Colonel, please continue."

"Sir, I'm not an expert and I can only--"

"You're the best we've got at the moment, Colonel," Hammond told him confidently.

"I'd say that was a pretty good endorsement, Jason. Go on."

Jason had been giving Daniel a long look, wondering why he knew the man's name. He had an idea, but would have to set it aside for later. Clearing his throat, he went on. "Okay, well, as I was saying, the killer had time to trap and stage. Meaning he had the time to stalk his victims, set a trap for them, then be able to implement it _and_ stage the scene."

"Stage the scene?" Hammond asked in shock.

Jason nodded grimly. "Sir, he wasn't just found dead on the floor of the gym showers. He was tied to one of the showers. That indicates he was setting a scene, either for us or for his fantasy." He looked at Jack, wondering whether or not to tell Hammond what they knew. Hammond would eventually find out the murdered men had been gay, but if Jason let him know now, Hammond might feel compelled to ask why.

"I take it there's more than you're saying," Hammond said astutely.

Jason opened his mouth to answer but Daniel took it upon himself to brave the front. "Sir, the murdered men were gay." Hammond gave the expected look of shock at the news, and then the puzzled expression wondering how Daniel knew that.

"Sir, Daniel told us this after we learned about the second killing," Jack interjected.

It took a few moments, and as the men watched their commander, they watched the look of annoyance pass to curiosity then reluctant acceptance. Hammond could ask Daniel how he knew, but it would give him information he'd rather not have. He knew Daniel was a very open man, given to friendships from every quarter. He'd also been married and Hammond knew perfectly well that Daniel had loved his wife. At the very least, it meant Daniel was bisexual. And did that matter? Hammond asked himself. The answer was no.

"I see. Are you sure it isn't just coincidence?"

"Yes, sir," Daniel answered quickly. There was no way he'd let Jason compromise himself. "Sergeant Waters was bisexual, sir. The killer is targeting gays, or at the very least, men he considers gay."

"Which means what?" Hammond asked.

"Which means he has a _possible_ limited resource from which to choose," Jason answered before Daniel could continue _saving_ him. When Daniel sent him a stern look, Jason shot it right back and turned back to Hammond. "Sir, the victims all look similar, so that might be important in the killer's methodology. He set the scene in the shower room." _To resemble that of a gay bathhouse, but with a macabre twist_ , Jason wanted to add, but didn't.

But Daniel did, lying right through his teeth. "I told Jason it reminded me of a bathhouse, sir."

Jason's head whipped around, eyes locking on Daniel's. "Daniel, don't--"

"It's okay, Colonel," Hammond said, holding up a hand. "Nothing leaves this room." He grinned reassuringly at Jason, thinking this was the real reason for his request for privacy. "Now why a bathhouse, Doctor?"

Daniel cleared his throat. "Forensics will report it anyway, so we may as well tell you first." He paused, still unsure about telling him.

Impatient, Hammond said, "Doctor?"

"Sir, the room reeked of semen."

No one had _ever_ seen Hammond flush. Even angry, he was what Jack's father would have called, "a cool customer." He didn't flush, exactly, but right then, his expression was close enough.

"Semen?"

"Yes, sir," Jack confirmed. "And because of that, I agree with Jason. The room had been staged to send a very specific message."

Hammond's lips thinned with the familiar set of angry retribution. "Then it seems we have a responsibility to answer."

"My thoughts exactly, sir," Jack answered. "We need to set out some bait to catch this bastard. I'm still trying to think it through, sir, so if you'll permit me, I'll have something planned by tomorrow morning?"

Hammond pursed his lips, thinking it over, then nodded. "Very well. Report back here at 0800 hours." He paused, looking around. "Just the Colonel will be adequate, gentlemen." Turning back to Jack, he said, "Come up with a plan to implement by tomorrow afternoon. I don't want to waste time."

"Agreed, sir."

"In the meantime, all of you try to get some rest."

"We'll do our best, sir."

"I know you will, Jack."

**. .**

The men made their way for the secondary mess hall conveniently located in B-Wing, east of security on level 16. As they exited the elevator, Daniel still wasn't all that talkative. However, instead of letting him alone, Jack, Jason and Alex went out of their way to include him in their conversation, glancing at him whenever they spoke, as they normally would have. His silence was respected, but they weren't going to ignore him.

Daniel felt buoyed by their generosity of spirit though not enough to dispel the sadness in his heart. The mess hall had some people in it but, to his relief, it wasn't crowded. Daniel didn't think he could tolerate a lot of noise, though the presence of people was comforting nonetheless. The one thing he'd learned was that people developed a type of claustrophobia after experiencing trauma. The level and duration depended entirely on the person and the type of trauma.

Daniel caught Jack glancing around the mess hall as they proceeded down the food line with their trays. By the look on his face, Jack felt the same about having too many people around, although for Jack it was more likely that he didn't want any 'accidental' eavesdropping. Daniel could sense it, his empathy not exactly telepathic but his knowledge of Jack led him there.

Daniel figured that Jack wanted to talk, having easily discerned that he was particularly troubled with the death of Waters. Daniel had a feeling that Jason had been about to ask him about Waters back in the briefing room. Daniel was glad for the interruption by Hammond though. He hadn't been ready to talk about it. He might be now, however. He felt a bit calmer, not so... panicked.

Picking out flatware, Daniel looked up in time to catch Jack looking at him over his shoulder. Daniel gave him a smile and Jack grinned back, in apparent relief.

None of the men were all that hungry, not after seeing Waters. They knew they should eat _something_ so they took curious items as they moved down the buffet line. Jason being first somewhat dictated what everyone else took. He grabbed a fruit salad, Jack grabbed a regular one; Alex took pie and chocolate milk. Jason for once chose an ice tea. Daniel copied Jason, taking a fruit salad and tea.

They followed Jason to a table at the far left center of the room, away from the majority of personnel eating. There they could talk privately, at least for a while. Jason sat down next to Alex and Daniel sat across from them, Jack to his right.

The others dug in without all that much enthusiasm and Daniel did the same, picking at his salad. He rested his elbow on the table, propping his left cheek in hand, wishing he _was_ hungry. Unfortunately, the cold hard lump in his stomach kept his interest at bay.

Memories were cruel things sometimes, and Daniel's picked at him like vultures picking at bones. Daniel didn't want to remember his friend that way but he was choiceless and resenting it. He could feel a cold rage building inside and he did his best to ignore it.

No good would come of it, he told himself, but at the same time vowed that he would do whatever it took to bring down the killer. It was then that Daniel recognized the anger and hatred was the same that had been building up in Jason. He sat there wondering what to do to help his lover when he realized that someone was talking to him.

"Daniel?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

Jack took a deep breath and Daniel noticed the deep worry in his eyes. He suddenly felt intense guilt for putting it there. Before Jack could ask, Daniel looked at his salad, then pushed it away from him. "I knew him," he said simply.

No one needed to ask who he meant. Sitting at his right, Jason laid a hand on Daniel's forearm. "I thought that's why you were silent. Why didn't you tell us this before?" he asked gently.

"Processing," Daniel answered, and felt a lump in his throat. Being with his lovers was causing the breakdown of his bravado, the wall he managed quite well to hide behind most of the time. But Jack and Jason had this knack to get behind that wall, make Daniel relax to the point where all his emotions lay on his sleeve.

"How did you know him?" Jack asked, but he and Jason knew. Alex was the only one with genuine curiosity on his face.

"We went out for about two weeks."

"Went out?" Alex echoed, then realized that Daniel was talking about dating. He felt absurdly silly then, not having thought to apply the normal dating phrases to gay couples, too. "Right, never mind. Must be slow today," he covered, then added, "I'm sorry, Daniel."

Daniel suddenly shook his head. "Don't, Alex, it's okay. I'm sorry he's dead, and I'm especially sorry he died that way. My reaction to his death is simply because I'd... fucked him." Jason coughed and next to him, Alex thumped his back for him. "Sorry, Jace, but that's the best word for it. It wasn't going to work out because he was too afraid of being found out.

"He was still pretty much in the closet. I mean, even off duty. He didn't even want to sit too close at restaurants, movies, afraid of being found out. It wasn't me who ended it, it was him. I really did like him, but after a while, that attitude wore me down so I wasn't at all bothered when he said he didn't want to see me anymore. I'd been about to do the same thing.

"After he'd broken it off, I tried to maintain a friendship with him but he retreated to familiar ground and pretended he knew me only professionally."

"That sucks," Alex said, unwilling to censor himself. "Sorry," he quickly added, "But that's just cowardly. I know people don't like to speak ill of the dead, Daniel, and no one deserves to die like he did, but that was cold, what he did."

Daniel stabbed at a piece of fruit. "Still makes me mad, but not the break up. I get mad at society for making people like Brian run from themselves."

"So it wasn't serious at all?" Jack asked carefully. He didn't want to encourage Daniel to remember more than he had, but he couldn't help but wonder.

"In just two weeks?" Daniel asked, surprised.

Jason slowly smiled at him. "It was for you and me."

For the first time in a few hours, Daniel showed signs of life and smiled back. "Yeah, but we were already best friends, Jason, and besides, we were _meant_ to be." He reached over and squeezed Jason's hand quickly, as if he'd been giving Jason encouragement for something. He looked at Jack and formed another knowing smile. "Like you were. But to answer your question, no way was it serious, but I liked him, thought we could be friends. He thought otherwise."

Alex was thinking how similar Brian had been to himself, then something occurred to him, surprising him. "Were those other men in the closet, Daniel? I mean, you said you saw them and talked to them at a gay club every once in a while so it's obvious that they weren't completely in the closet, but did they overtly hide it outside the job?"

Daniel frowned, thinking about it. "Well, we hide it," he said. "Doesn't mean we're in the closet by choice but more out of necessity. What're you getting at, Alex?"

"Nothing. My possible theory just became nonexistent."

"But what was it?" Daniel asked.

"Well, I was just thinking that maybe the killer was targeting men who're denying who they are. What if the killer is gay, and the dead men were closet gays who'd failed his criteria?"

Jason's brows rose and he exchanged quick glances with Jack and Daniel before nodding at Alex. "That's actually a sound theory, Alex. Daniel, were those guys out?"

Pursing his lips, Daniel thought about it. "Yeah, they were, to a point, so sorry, Alex, your theory can't hold up."

"It was just a thought," Alex said, disappointed.

"But a good one," Jason said, "and it brings up the question of what they _did_ have in common. We have to look for something, something besides being gay and serving in or with the military, so we can use that to set the trap."

"Guys," Jack put in quickly before Daniel went on. "I hate to put this thought out there, but it really doesn't matter how his victims are alike."

"I think it does," Jason disagreed.

"What I mean is," Jack went on, "it doesn't seem to me to be the best way to catch him. The only way we're going to get the sonofabitch is if he makes a mistake. Frankly, I don't want to wait for that to happen. We need to draw him out."

"Jack's right," Jason kicked in. "Waiting for him to fuck up means waiting through another corpse. No thank you. I've been thinking more and more about setting up a trap and using bait is the only way to go about it. Time to go on the offensive."

"Hang on," Alex said, thoroughly confused. "What the hell's the difference between trap and bait? There're one and the same."

"No," Jason said, shaking his head. "A trap is restricting his sources, like locking down specific levels, not just the mountain, forcing him to _perhaps_ try and kill someone else. That kind of trap is too chancy. Bait, on the other hand, is putting one or two people out there, alone, and see if he goes after them."

Daniel sighed. "Except I don't like having someone be the bait, even if I understand why. We need to be very careful."

"Yes, absolutely," Jason agreed solemnly.

Everyone at the table went quiet, thinking it over. Then Alex had an idea. "Who is the right kind of bait?"

"It doesn't matter," Daniel told him.

"What?" Jack said.

Three pairs of eyes stared at Daniel expectantly. "It doesn't matter if we're the killer's choices or not. When we set the trap, the bait, we'll be his _only_ choices."

Jack pursed his lips. "Then you two should pair up this afternoon and tomorrow, let the killer know who you're partnered with. Jason can suffer me as his partner." Jason answered him with a snort.

"So," Daniel said, "What's on the agenda for this afternoon? I have some work I'd like to do and Alex would probably be bored stiff. He could spend time with Al and Connor."

Jack shook his head. "That puts you by yourself, Daniel, so forget it."

"Why? It'd give the killer an opportunity."

"Because it's during work hours, Daniel. We need two things. To monitor you, and to put you in harm's way during the most convenient part of the day. Lunch."

"So tomorrow then," Daniel nodded.

Alex felt a chill run over him and shuddered, and Daniel reached over and slapped his had affectionately. "Don't worry, Alex. I've got stuff for you to do that'll bore you to tears."

"Oh, I don't know," Alex argued. "I wouldn't mind spending the afternoon in your lab if you wouldn't mind me asking questions or helping you do your work."

Jack grinned. "Careful now, Alex. He'll launch into professor-mode and you'll wish you'd kept quiet."

"Oh shut up, Jack," Daniel retorted, then gave Alex an approving smile. "I wouldn't mind. And you could get a glimpse of what Connor's been up to in college for the last several months."

"So," Jason grinned at Jack. "You and I get to do what?"

Jack gave Jason an extremely filthy smile, then said, "Paperwork."

Jason made a growling sound. "It never ends. May as well bring my own."

"So what about monitoring devices?" Daniel asked Jack. "When do we start this?"

"Gimme some time to mull it over," Jack replied. "I'll come up with something."

**. . .**

By 1700, Alex was sure Daniel was relieved to have the work day come to an end. Daniel had never showed any signs of having been bothered by Alex's presence, but Alex figured he was tired of the questions. Daniel hadn't gotten as much work done as he would have without him there.

They met up with their teammates for dinner and so far, the plan to smoke the killer out and force him to choose another target was still a go. The only question was when to try.

After dinner, Daniel and Alex hung back as Jack and Jason entered a half-filled elevator car. "We'll grab the next one, Jack," Daniel told him. "Talk to you later." The doors closed and Alex let out a slow breath.

"You remember our 'pretend conversation'?"

"Yes," Alex said, having answered it for the fourth time. "We've gone over this already, Daniel."

"Just checking, that's all."

Alex sighed, and a few seconds passed. Daniel looked over at him again and caught Alex frowning. "What's the matter?" he asked.

Looking up, startled, Alex shook his head. "It's nothing."

Daniel stuffed his hands in his pockets as he sensed worry from the man. "It'll be fine, Alex."

Alex glanced at him, startled and annoyed. "I wish you'd stop doing that. It's almost like reading my mind."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "When I ask a question and I get a 'nothing' in response when it's quite obviously _something_ , then you're going to get one of two things, Alex. Me reading your emotions and guessing, or you talking to me about what's bothering you."

"Is there a third option?" Alex grinned.

"Hmmm," Daniel mused. "No."

Alex snorted. "Fine, okay, and yeah, I'm worried."

"Worrying over it will do no good, Alex. Just think positively and it'll be fine."

"Just like that?" Alex asked disbelievingly.

"Well, if we believe it will be, sometimes..." Daniel said, leaving the rest unsaid.

As they waited silently for the elevator car to return, Daniel heard footsteps behind them when someone else approached. Probably for the elevator, Daniel thought absently to himself, but he wasn't really paying attention. He was thinking of more ways to tease Alex, which led to how it would be sharing his bed with him for two days. If that. He started to expand that thought into something more than sleeping when an alarm suddenly went off inside his head.

_Danger_

It was the same warning he'd felt on level 15 three days ago. He looked over his shoulder and an SF, a Sergeant Winston Matthews, stood there waiting with them for the elevator. Matthews nodded politely to him and Daniel nodded back, but he felt a bit of arrogant superiority from the man--something Daniel had run into before when it came to the military's attitude toward civilians.

Daniel tried to dismiss the thoughts, the immediate worry, but that alarms had gone off for a reason. Daniel then remembered that Matthews had been one of the SFs on guard duty near David Hill's room. For a moment, Daniel thought he was simply being paranoid, but he trusted his empathic feelings. Either Sergeant Matthews knew the killer... or... the killer _was_ Sergeant Matthews.

Swallowing, Daniel turned his head and winked at Alex, his face a mask of deadly seriousness. Alex recognized the signal at once, and his body went on alert. He tried to think of a reason Daniel would be suspicious of Sergeant Matthews and could only think that Daniel had gotten a warning of some kind.

Starting up the pre-arranged conversation, Alex hoped he read him correctly. The wink only meant this one thing. "Hey, I got the new pieces and board in today? Switch with Jason tonight and we can play."

"That sounds good, actually," Daniel said, relieved. "Jack's driving me nuts. He may be my best friend and I don't mind sleeping with him but he's a cover hog."

Alex laughed, then purposely flirted. "Trust me, I don't steal covers, but I have to warn you. I do tend to snuggle."

"Oh no," Daniel grinned, winking at him. He then cleared his throat and said, "But truthfully, that won't bother me one bit." The elevator doors opened and the three men stepped inside the car, with Sergeant Matthews standing in front of them as they leaned against the back wall. Daniel reached around him and hit the level 25 button. "Unlike some others, Alex, I'm not one of those guys who freezes up just because we're sharing a bed. I have no problems sleeping with men."

On cue, Sergeant Matthews looked over his shoulder, smirk on his face and brow lifted. "That sounds dangerous, Doctor Jackson. Especially in this place."

Was it a threat? Daniel thought. "Only to homophobes, Sergeant. Unlike them, I'm secure in my sexuality."

"That so?" Matthews asked, eyes narrowing.

Daniel's intuition about the man was confirmed. He was one such homophobe. "It is. I won't feel in the least threatened if I wake up with Alex's arm around my waist." Or dick against my ass, he thought to say, but didn't. Best keep it simple for now, he ordered himself.

"I'll try to behave myself during the night," Alex said, forcing the sarcasm into his voice.

"Me, too," Daniel said, using the same tone. He was still getting the same warning message, but now he was feeling a deep hatred from Matthews. Part of him started to get angry because he felt like challenging the man right then and there.

"What's wrong, Sergeant?" Alex asked, pushing off the wall and standing straight, hand at his sidearm. "There a problem we should know about?"

Matthews looked him over and his face went from scowling to calm in two seconds. "No, sir. None at all."

"Ah huh," Daniel said, obviously not believing him, and not bothering to hide it, either. Then... something struck Daniel and he didn't know why he hadn't seen it before. And given Matthews' behavior, Daniel was taking no chances.

Daniel withdrew his sidearm and with his left hand turned the man around. He moved quickly, his offworld experiences having given him a considerable edge over the SF. He pressed the muzzle of his gun into Matthews' left shoulder, where the clavicle began.

"What the--" Matthews began.

"Your sidearm."

"Have you lost--"

"Alex, take his sidearm."

Knowing Daniel would never do something like this without reason, Alex trained his own sidearm on the man while he took the sidearm from Matthews' holster. "Don't move," he warned.

"You've made a grave mistake," Matthews spat.

"For your sake, I certainly hope so," Daniel warned back. The elevator doors opened on Level 25 and Daniel pushed the SF through the doors, making him walk backwards. "Alex, got your weapon trained?" He didn't bother to take his eyes off Matthews to check.

"Right at his head," Alex answered tightly.

Behind them, the elevator doors closed and they heard the familiar hum of the car on the move.

"You wouldn't dare," Matthews told Alex.

"If you have any doubts that I'll pull this trigger, then by all means, make a move."

"You're both going to the cells for this."

"I don't think so," Daniel said as he lifted his radio from his belt. "Jack, this is Daniel. Do you copy? Over."

_"I copy, Daniel. What's your location?"_

"Outside the A elevator on 25. Major Wagner and I have run into a problem with a member of security, Sergeant Matthews. He's _alone_."

Alex blinked, then cursed himself for not seeing.

_"We're on our way. O'Neill out."_

Daniel barely blinked, keeping his body taut and ready for any sudden movement by Matthews.

"You'd really shoot a member of security?" Matthews asked, acting surprised but with a hint of derision in his voice.

"Where's your partner, Matthews?"

Matthews hesitated. "Still at chow."

Daniel shook his head. "Then you should have stayed till he was finished. You're in violation of current orders."

"Who the fuck are you to tell me about following military orders?" Matthews sneered.

"I've been here, at this command, for over _eight_ years, Matthews," Daniel answered. He could feel the hate coming off this bigot and wanted to put him in his place. "How long have you been here?"

"Irrelevant. I've been in the service a lot longer than you've been--"

Daniel snorted, cutting him off. "You're 30 years old, Matthews. You've been in the service for eight years, Academy time doesn't count."

Matthews' eyes narrowed. "Been snooping into my file? Why?"

"If you'd been paying attention, you'd know it was by Hammond's orders, making myself familiar with everyone involved in the search for the coward who's killing people."

"Killing _queers_ , you mean."

Daniel smiled at him. "Now just _how_ did you know they were gay?"

"How did you?" Matthews replied. "Takes one to know one, I guess, right?"

Daniel snorted, surprised at how stupid this man was. "If I were to go by that qualification, then I'm afraid you just outed yourself."

Matthews stared back at him and Daniel could see him thinking, working it out, then becoming angry at trapping himself. "Not by a long shot, fag," he sneered. "It's simply easier to tell who you freaks are."

"Really?" Daniel asked. He wondered if Matthews was making himself a suspect on purpose--and if so, did he even have the brains to do such a thing? It wasn't likely. Matthews was a follower, a sycophant. He followed the killers and did what he was told, not the other way around.

"Isn't it tiring, Alex, to come across such _stupid_ people?"

"It's getting kinda boring, too," Alex answered.

Matthews' face reddened with anger and Daniel could feel it boiling up, coming dangerously close to rage. Just when he was preparing himself for attack that would force Daniel to shoot him, the elevator's doors opened.

Jack, Jason, Pederson, Cari, and two other SFs exited. When the SFs circled behind Matthews, Daniel recognized them as Sergeants Wallace and Mayfield. He couldn't remember their first names but other data came to him. Both had served at the SGC for four years, and they'd recently reenlisted. Security and secrecy granted them another tour at the SGC and Daniel figured that since they were still here, they'd been doing a good job and their positions were secure.

"You can put your weapon away, Daniel," Wallace said as he handcuffed Matthews.

Reholstering his sidearm, Daniel told Jack, "He's not the only one whose partner is missing. The orders from Hammond for everyone to pair up had already been in effect, so Brian had a partner. Where is he?" Daniel looked at Cari and Pederson. "Has he shown up? If not, then something happened to him so that the killer could get rid of Brian more easily."

Pederson scowled, mostly at himself, then at Cari, and they moved off to the side, getting on the radio. Daniel could hear them asking for information on Brian's partner. "Colonel?" Pederson asked, and gestured for Jack to follow him and Cari as they walked down the hall, out of hearing range. They talked about something and Daniel watched them carefully.

Suddenly done with their chat, they returned and Jack hit the elevator button, glared back at Matthews' already glowering face. "Where's your partner, Matthews?"

"I already told _this_ ," Matthews sneered.

"That's Doctor Daniel Jackson," Jason informed him as calmly as he could, "and while he may be civilian, his comparable military rank is _Colonel_. You would do well to remember that."

Despite Jason's threatening proximity, Matthews snorted with derision. "So what. He's civilian and a queer, just like the rest. I didn't kill them, but I'm not exactly mourning their loss, either."

"That's it!" Pederson scowled, smacking Matthews in the back of the head, making everyone smirk--except for Daniel, whose eyes were wide in surprise. "No one asked for your opinion. You get asked a question, you answer it, nothing more."

"You act pretty pissed off, Lieutenant," Matthews snapped back at him. "Your queer friends having a tough time of it?"

This time the smack in the back of the head came harder, and from Wallace. "What the hell did the Lieutenant just tell you, Matthews?"

Matthews tried to turn around but Mayfield had a good hold of his cuffed wrists, pushing down on them whenever Matthews tried to turn. "What're you people gonna do, beat me up?" Matthews sneered.

Jason stared at Wallace, his fists clenching and unclenching, and then turned and walked away, leaving it to the SF to deal with Matthews. Wallace watched Jason walk several feet away, amazed at his control. He turned and snorted at Matthews. "You're so fucking lucky, you have no idea."

"What're you talking about?" Matthews growled.

Wallace sighed, exchanging looks with Mayfield, Cari, and Pederson. " _We_ let you get away with breaking a few rules here, being insubordinate. We gave you time, to adjust, to grow up, but you haven't learned."

"You had me patrolling the goddamn garage!" Matthews complained loudly.

"He has no clue about self-discipline," Mayfield said to Pederson, rolling his eyes. He kept a hand on the handcuffs chain, just in case Matthews tried anything else.

In the meantime, Cari decided to let the prick know that _he_ had no say in what happened here. She walked over to him, using her considerable authoritarian stare as she peered down at him. He was a few inches shorter and her thicker soled boots made it worse. He clearly found this intimidating as well as infuriating.

"It might be well for you to remember, _little man_ ," she began, "that we police units do in fact police our own. Keep doing what you're doing and you'll find out how far that policing goes."

Jack pretended he hadn't heard anything and Cari's warning sunk in quickly as Matthews peered around at Pederson, Wallace, and Mayfield. But when his gaze returned to Cari, his expression said clearly that he had no use for women in the military, either.

"How'd this guy get past the psych evals?" Jack asked Pederson. SFs were generally screened in-house instead of through Jack's office. "We can't have this sort guarding visitors who don't meet up to his bigoted standards."

"My fault, and I take full responsibility," Pederson said grimly. "I can only assume he did a damn good job acting his way through the psych eval. I just wish that we had a heavier screening process, but we don't. We have to _assume_ the bastards are telling the truth."

Matthews said nothing; he simply smirked, appearing smugly superior. Daniel laughed at him and the smugness abruptly disappeared, replaced with a deep hatred.

"Just itching to get your hands on me, aren't you?" Daniel taunted.

"Not for the reasons you wish," Matthews snapped back.

"What am I wishing?" Daniel said, grinning. "Tell me, please. I'm dying to be educated by you."

The elevators opened and Pederson stepped in, pressing the button to hold them open. "Colonel, you and Colonel Coburn don't need to come back with us. We've got it handled."

"I know your people have it covered, but we'll make a sweep of this floor before settling in for the night."

Pederson nodded. "Roger that."

Matthews glowered at Daniel as Pederson led him in the elevator, and Daniel grinned at him as the doors closed.

Jack clapped Daniel on the shoulder and shook it as he squeezed. " _Nice_ observations, Daniel. I'd only just remembered that Waters had been alone."

"Did you find out who Matthews' partner was?" Daniel asked.

"Pederson said it was Sergeant Hamilton, but we can't find Hamilton to confirm. Last report was that he was in the Mess Hall."

"That's what Matthews said," Daniel sighed. "So who was Brian's partner?"

"No one," Jack answered. "Sergeant Davis said he was supposed to report to security to get a partner. That was this morning. Within five hours, he was dead."

"How could security fuck this up?" Daniel asked, astonished.

"They didn't," Jack answered. "The person Waters reported to was Matthews. He was told his partner would be escorted to his quarters by midnight. Apparently that never happened. How Waters left his quarters unnoticed and slipped into the gym around 4 am, no one knows."

"Four?" Alex asked.

"Fraiser says that the pathologist determined that it was around five or so when Waters died."

"And the surveillance camera on that corridor?" Daniel asked.

Jack grimaced. "The lens was blocked. Security figured it out when they tried to access the camera and saw only a black screen. Rewinding it backward, they found that the killer had left elevator 2 but moving _behind_ the camera. We have one photograph of the killer before he blocked the camera in the leading corridor to the gym from that elevator.

"He was wearing MOPP 2, so the gas mask and hood were covering his head. Since we're all issued MOPP gear upon arrival, we don't know who it was." Jack smiled grimly, dangerously. "But we'll get the sonofabitch. Security is currently going through the tapes of the connecting corridors and time periods."

"Wait a minute. Doesn't this mean it was Matthews?" Daniel asked.

"No, he has an alibi. Hamilton vouched for him, said they were playing cards in Hamilton's room during the first two murders."

Daniel snorted. "Fucking hypocrite. How much you wanna bet they weren't in his room playing cards."

"Daniel," Alex protested. "He's a homophobe."

"And a very _devout_ one," Jason said. "It's my experience that the ones who scream the loudest are the ones who seek illicit sex." His mind went immediately to Hamilton giving Matthews head and the image of that bastard having any kind of pleasure made Jason sick.

"So now what?" Alex asked.

"Wait," Jason stated, his eyes on Jack's for confirmation.

Jack agreed with a single nod. "Pederson will release Matthews to his quarters. If it's really him, he won't do anything right away anyway, so we give him time to stew."

"Is that a good idea?" Daniel asked.

"Everything is less than circumstantial evidence, Daniel. We can't hold him because the only thing he violated were orders and respect to a superior officer. Pederson will have his movements tracked, so don't worry."

" _If_ he's the killer," Jason added, "then Daniel and Alex have just given him a reason to go after them."

"We have?" Alex asked.

"You embarrassed him. Killer or not, he'll want you out of the way. You'll need to watch your backs regardless. If he really is the killer, than you've increased the odds in him coming after you both. So, we need to think up a plan to leave you both alone. Adam has surveillance wires that you two can wear and we can be nearby."

Daniel shook head. "Matthews will know that."

"Yes, he will," Jack said, "so we'll have two methods of surveillance. We don't have everything worked out yet. Other ideas will come to me. Hopefully Pederson will think up more. In the meantime, we sleep on it, give us some planning time, too, because let's face it, the killer could very well be someone else and Matthews is just making himself fit the bill by his stupidity."

"So we chill till tomorrow then?" Daniel asked.

"That's the plan." Jack inclined his head at Jason. "Let's go brief Hammond, then get some rest."

"Isn't it a little early?" Alex asked, checking his watch. It was only 6:30 pm.

"Rest, not sleep, Alex. I'm too wired to sleep, and I suspect everyone else is, too. But we need to relax, rest, store up our energy."

"And where's Sam and Teal'c? Al and Connor?" Daniel asked.

"In the security offices, helping to go over film." Jack rolled his eyes, showing he didn't like the idea himself. "I'm leaving them to it. Me, I'm fixing to try and relax, maybe play a game." He then looked meaningfully at Jason. "I think we might have a game or two we might play before sack time."

"One or two," Jason replied, then winked at Daniel as his eyes rested on Alex. "Don't leave marks."

"You're hilarious, you are," Alex smirked back in mock-disdain.

Jason and Jack walked down the corridor to take the stairwell, and Jason shot over his shoulder, "Be good."

"I'm always good," Daniel yelled back, grinning at their rolled eye expressions as they disappeared.

**. .**

They reached Daniel's door at the end of the short connecting corridor and after getting inside, Daniel shut the door and slid his card through the interior port, punching in a number to lock the door. Turning around, Daniel waved at the room. "Safe and sound in Chez Jackson."

Alex grinned and sat on the foot of the bed, bending over to unlace his boots. "What do you think about Matthews?"

"He's not the murderer. He's a typical follower," Daniel answered, disgusted by the existence of someone like Matthews in the SGC. Daniel tossed his key card on the desk and unbuttoned his shirt. "All I want to do is get this solved quickly, and long before the NID get a whiff of what's going on."

"Cheerful thought, isn't it?" Alex said softly, absently.

Daniel said nothing, leaving him alone. Lost in thought, his mind eventually opened enough to accidentally pick up on Alex's feelings. Daniel didn't want to intrude to find out what the emotions he felt were about so he started to think about something else, anything else.

Problem was, Alex seemed to feel a few emotions stronger than the others and Daniel couldn't help but feel those. Apprehension and doubt, and stronger still was curiosity and intense arousal.

Daniel raised a foot to the chair to unlace his boot and glanced over his shoulder to find Alex still sitting forward on the bed, boots off, fatigue shirt held in his hands, staring at it. He appeared lost in thought just as Daniel had been. The only difference was that Alex wasn't being distracted by Daniel's thoughts.

As Daniel removed his other boot and pulled off his t-shirt, dog tags jingling against his chest, he wondered if his own sudden _interest_ in Alex was nothing more than a reaction to Alex's arousal. It was highly likely, and Daniel had to stomp on the emotion because whatever Alex was feeling, he was feeling it as a normal part of the need for distraction. He didn't really want Daniel. He wanted Jason.

Daniel looked over at Alex again, and found him sitting in his olive green boxers, watching him, eyes slightly unfocused as if he were daydreaming. Daniel unbuttoned his trousers slowly and slid them off, taking the time to look over Alex's body just as Alex's eyes were doing the same thing. It was an arousing thing, having someone _new_ give you the eye, the look, the open interest. Problem was, Daniel knew damn well that he wouldn't push Alex into something. Even if the man would say yes, Daniel couldn't be with someone who disrespected Jason as much as he did.

Alex would argue otherwise, but the proof lay in Alex's inability to understand their polyamorous relationship. There was no such thing as cheating when approval had been given beforehand.

Daniel laid his trousers over the back of the chair and when Alex blinked and met his eyes, realization hit him that he'd been blatantly staring. Alex promptly blushed and Daniel grinned indulgently.

"I'm flattered, if you want to know the truth," he said.

"I, uh... sorry."

"Why?" Daniel asked.

Alex bit his lips together and avoided answering as he looked about the room. Locating the small fridge that Daniel had next to the dresser, he gestured and finally met his gaze. "Something to drink?"

"Help yourself," Daniel answered, deciding not to push for an answer just yet. As Alex got up and went over, retrieving a Coke, Daniel stepped in behind him. "Would you hand me a bottle of water, please?"

Alex jumped. "Shit, don't do that," he said, quickly handing the bottle over his shoulder. Alex wished he'd stop blushing, wished his dick would mind itself and go back to sleep. When he straightened up and turned around, Daniel hadn't backed up any, eyes bright and mischievous.

Daniel knew he shouldn't be doing it, but his rebellious side said to hell with it.

"What're you doing?" Alex asked. When Daniel didn't answer and simply turned away, a secretive smile on his face, Alex felt his face grow hot again. Swallowing his fear, he asked, "Is it my imagination or are you flirting with me?"

Daniel opened the water and took a drink, noticing how Alex's eyes dropped to his mouth, then his throat, and how Alex swallowed after. "A little," he admitted, setting his bottle on the nightstand. At that moment, Daniel actually _wanted_ Alex, but he wasn't about to do anything, not as long as he could feel that disrespect, that apprehension. Pulling down the covers, Daniel adjusted his pillow and sat down, reclining against it and the bed's headboard.

"Do you wanna play some chess?" he asked, pushing away the arousal. "I actually have a board in the top drawer of the dresser." Daniel patted the bed as casually as he could. "C'mon, Alex. I won't bite." He refrained from stating the obvious follow-up.

Alex fiddled with the pop top of the can as he knelt on the bed and sat back on his heels. It was kind of a compromise. He didn't want to sit next to him, not yet. He opened the Coke and took a long drink, liking the burn of it as it went down, making him focus on it, not Daniel.

"I'm not really into playing chess. The game puts me to sleep."

Daniel nodded, watching him carefully, making sure he didn't look patronizing or belittling. "It's a slow game, that's for sure." He set his water bottle on the nightstand and slid his legs under the covers, scooching down until he lay on his back. He turned onto his side, head propped in one hand. "If you don't want to play a game, there's nothing else to do but read, talk, or sleep, and I can tell you're not sleepy." He patted the bed again. "C'mon."

Alex fidgeted a bit, then told his brain to shut off and stop overthinking. He set his Coke on the nightstand at his end and settled under the covers, pulling them up to his waist. The extra pillow Daniel had was not military issue, so it was light and fluffy. He instantly liked it over the old down pillows made flat and heavy by age and use.

"These are nice," he said as he burrowed his head and shoulders into the pillow.

"When I can, I replace things the military issues."

That explained it, Alex thought. And it also explained the two cotton blankets, not thin cotton ones issued by the Air Force quartermaster. "I never think to do that," he said absently as he scooted down further, shoulders moving off the pillow as he lay on his back. The normal conversation was doing its job, he realized. And he wondered if Daniel was perhaps doing it on purpose. He figured he could do it, too, but he found himself staring up at the ceiling instead.

Daniel sensed the nervousness from Alex, knew it was increasing. He had to do something. Making up his mind, Daniel reached over and slid his hand under Alex's, lacing their fingers together. Alex jumped, turning his head to look at him with wide, surprised eyes. The rest of his body was frozen still.

In a soothing voice, Daniel said, "I'm holding your hand because I need to get your attention." He took a deep breath, certain he had Alex's attention now. "Do you want something to happen between us tonight?"

"I..."

Daniel felt guilt from him and sighed. "Listen to me. It's not cheating if something happens."

Alex frowned, wondering why Daniel had picked that up, then realized he _had_ been feeling guilty, not just nervous. And it was why he was both drawn to Daniel and afraid to be aroused by him. Plus... there was this bit of sexual mystique around Daniel, as if the man could do no wrong. Alex couldn't bring himself to admit that in being with Daniel, he'd expose his own weaknesses and problems. Plus there was the idea that Daniel would never have come on to him if it weren't for the situation.

Daniel tugged at his hand. "Alex, did nothing I say to you at Adriann's sink in?"

"It isn't about cheating, Daniel. It just feels... I dunno. Convenient."

Daniel pulled his hand away and sat up quickly, staring straight ahead. It had been a while since he'd gotten angry so fast and he hated that this was the reason. "Convenient?"

"Would we being talking about this if we weren't paired up?" Alex asked, not looking at him, and not having a clue that Daniel was _pissed_.

" _Convenient_?" Daniel asked again. He turned and looked down at Alex. "How fucking dare you think so _little_ of me."

Alex's eyes widened and he sat up slowly. "What? I didn't... I don't... Daniel, wait--"

" _Convenient_!" Daniel spat. "You think I'd use you. I can't believe you think I'd use you like some one night stand. Even worse, that Jason would love someone like that." His eyes narrowed, smugly satisfied that he was making Alex panic. "Jesus fucking Christ." Daniel sighed heavily, and with it, he brought his knees up and dropped his forehead to them. "Sometimes, Alex, circumstances make you do things you never would have at other times. And afterward, it changes things. The circumstances don't make it wrong and neither do the actions made because of those circumstances."

Alex opened his mouth to speak, to argue his side, but he wasn't so sure he had a side anymore. "I just... it just felt like this wouldn't have happened if we hadn't been paired up here."

"And so the fuck what?" Daniel growled at him, lifting his head to face him again. "So what? It doesn't mean that my actions or your actions are fucking _wrong_ or that they shouldn't have happened. It doesn't mean it would never have happened again some other time, either."

"But that's just it!" Alex said. "You didn't want--"

" _Four years ago_ ," Daniel said between gritted teeth, " _circumstances_ forced the base infirmary to get a face lift, and Jason chose that time to come to me. Those circumstances then woke Jack up and he stopped pushing me away. Eventually, the three of us got together. I don't _know_ if Jason and I would have eventually gotten together. Neither of us knows. I'd like to think that we would have. What I _do_ know is that a certain set of circumstances made Jason come to me and it changed us forever and I am grateful for that and would never change them."

Daniel closed his eyes. "You think that time in Hawaii was wrong, should never have happened?"

"That's different, that's--"

"No, it's not. You were there, Jason was there. It was as _convenient_ then as it is now with one huge exception. I'm not Jason." Daniel swung his legs over the side of the bed, pulled open the nightstand, found his glasses and took out a book. "Whatever guilt trip you're convincing yourself to have, don't try to make it mine. I wanted you because I wanted you, not because you're convenient." With that, he fluffed up his pillow, put on his glasses and sat back, forcing himself to focus on his book. Thankfully, it was fiction, with a compelling enough story to capture his attention.

Minutes went by, and he was just getting caught up in the story when Alex reached out and touched his stomach. Daniel flinched and folded his book closed. Alex was still lying down, only his head was now lying on his arm. He was looking at him, guilty for another reason now. "I'm sorry. Me and my selfish mouth. I didn't realize... anyway, I'm really sorry."

Daniel gave a minor shake of his head as he sat forward and closed his book, finger needlessly inserted to save the page. "Don't worry about it, Alex. It's probably for the best."

"Will you at least accept my apology?" Alex asked, afraid he'd created a rift. He could tell Daniel was still pissed and he hated that.

Daniel didn't want to accept it, but he knew from experience that he'd regret it later if he didn't. "Fine, accepted." Alex didn't look like he believed him, and at the moment, Daniel really didn't give a shit. But, he needed this anger to go away and for Alex to chill. "Listen, it's gonna be a long night--probably a long couple of nights--and since I have a key, why don't we get dressed and raid Jason's office shelves so you can have something to read. He's got a bunch of books and magazines."

"I know," Alex answered, not really interested but it was a good idea. He didn't know if he could concentrate on a book, but it was worth a try to get rid of the guilt. He wanted to apologize, but he already had and one thing he did know about Daniel was that he hated over-apologizing. He sat up, rubbing his chin. "Yeah, I guess it'd be a good idea, especially since I just FUBARed the shit out of... well, this."

Daniel left the comment alone. Mostly because it was true and there was no point in rubbing salt in the wound by confirming it. They re-dressed and went down to Jason's office, scanning his shelves, most of which were filled with crime novels. It was rather spookily coincidental that their main themes were about serial killers.

Alex took his time, then selected three books. "We should stop and tell Jason I stole some of his prized books."

Daniel quickly nixed that idea. "Alex, I don't think Jason and Jack are up to having visitors right now." He noted the blush and would have teased Alex about it had he not been a bit mad at him still. Although not _quite_ as mad as before, otherwise Daniel might have felt the need to shove Alex's face in it and embellish what Jack and Jason were likely doing.

Alex left Jason a note and they returned to Daniel's room. Daniel re-locked the door and before too long, both had dressed back down to their skivvies again and were back in bed, books in hand. The bed wasn't large enough, even at full size, so Daniel lay on his right side, facing the nightstand and lamp, while Alex reclined against his propped up pillow.

It took him twenty minutes before Alex realized he wasn't going to get past two pages. He'd heard Daniel flip a few pages already and irrationally, he wanted Daniel to be unable to read. When pissed off, Alex had never been able to read and he envied Daniel's ability to do it.

He lay there for ten more minutes, trying to gather his thoughts, his wording, trying to figure out what to say so that he would sound neither incomprehensible nor imbecilic. With a sigh, he set down his book and pushed up, back to headboard.

"Daniel?"

"What?"

"Could we take a moment to talk?"

With a sigh, Daniel closed his book. "Go."

"We've never been together. I was thinking it was because we weren't really attracted to each other, but now I know that's not true. I didn't want whatever happened between us to be some sort of situational, one-time thing, and... yeah, I thought that's what you were going to have."

"How could you think that?" Daniel asked him, offended again.

"I don't _know_ you."

"What?"

"I don't _know_ you. I mean, I know you, but not completely. You're not my best friend, we don't click. I find you really... mysterious." Daniel's eyes widened and Alex rushed on. "You have this way about you that attracts people, gets them to talk, to love, to... well, fuck. I wondered what the hell you could possibly have for me, what did I have that you'd want. And I panicked and stupidly thought that maybe it's nothing more than getting a piece of ass, that finally, we're here, so you may as well take advantage of that..."

Daniel sighed and got up, heading for the bathroom. He turned on the faucet and splashed his face with lukewarm water. Count to ten, he told himself. Count to twenty. He took long breaths, counting with each one.

"Daniel?"

Daniel kept his eyes closed against the apologetic voice. He didn't want to hear it. None of it. "Forgiven, Alex. End of discussion. Now please, leave me alone."

"How can you forgive me when you're still mad?"

"Because I can. And now, you're saying things that are pissing me off, so I'm asking you to leave me alone."

"What'd I say? I thought you liked honesty!"

"I can't believe you," Daniel said, shaking his head. He turned off the water and turned on the shower instead. Lukewarm, to start. He threw off his clothes and stepped into the shower, keeping his back to Alex. "Please leave it alone. Go read, Alex. Please."

Alex turned around and went back to bed, picking up the book. He really had pissed Daniel off, and more than that, he understood why. It had just suddenly sunk in, and now he felt horrible. But he couldn't leave it alone. He needed Daniel to know and understand and he didn't want to wait till Daniel had cooled off.

What could he do to make it up to him? Alex turned and went back to the bathroom, eyes staring at Daniel's muscular body. His wide back, narrow hips, longish legs. Nice ass. He couldn't see his cock but he remembered Daniel had a nice one of those, too. In two moves, his t-shirt and shorts were on the floor, covering the threshold between bathroom and main room. In five moves, Alex was stepping over the tiled rise that protected the standard floor from the shower floor.

In two moves he had shaking hands on Daniel's shoulders, turning him around. "I'm sorry," he said as sincerely as he could. "Please, accept my apology, and accept this for what I wanted to do earlier but was too chicken to do." He then kissed Daniel, and moaned loudly when Daniel kissed him back. Hard.

Daniel used his anger, though it was quickly dwindling now, to feed the forceful actions he was using against Alex. He'd wanted to scare him, pay him back, till he remembered that Alex liked this sort of thing.

The unfortunate thing was that Daniel wasn't hard. He couldn't get it up because the anger was still there and Alex's attitude had pretty much taken away any feelings he'd had for him. Whether Alex would change now or not made no more difference. Pulling back from the long kiss, Daniel gestured at Alex's hard cock while shower water rained down over his head and face.

"You want me to take care of that?"

Alex shook his head. "You're not hard," he said with clear disappointment.

"That's the way it goes," Daniel told him matter-of-factly. "I wish I was, but I'm not. Call it fate, if you want." He paused, then curled his fingers around Alex's cock. "Doesn't mean I don't care about you." He kissed him lightly, then told Alex to close his eyes. In a few minutes, Alex was coming into his hand. A few minutes after that, Daniel was drying them off, talking to Alex in calm tones as he talked about the times where he'd learned to jack off another man.

Alex went to sleep that night thinking that everything was fine. Daniel slept lightly because everything wasn't alright. Jason was gonna break things off, and the sooner the better.

**. . .**

SFs Reed and Shears escorted Jack back from the Mess Hall. As Reed slid the card through the lock port, he raised a questioning brow.

"Is Colonel Coburn inside, sir?"

Jack lifted a brow and waved them inside his quarters. The guards stepped past the short hallway and looked to their right. Jason sat at the far right side of the room, dressed down in t-shirt and shorts, sitting on the room's single chair with his feet propped up on the desk. In front of him was his laptop and _Voyager_ was onscreen.

Jason looked over and grinned. "You two bring our man safely back from the hunt?"

"Yes, sir," Shears answered gamely.

Jack gave the guards a smirk as he dropped his cache of food on the bed and snapped his fingers at Reed, who handed his card back to him. "Thank you, gentlemen."

"Uh, sir?" Reed gestured, nodding his head at Jason, meaning he wanted to talk to him.

"Go ahead," Jack said, having an idea what it was about.

"Colonel Coburn?" Reed asked, glancing at Shears for both confirmation and backup. Shears merely looked nervous and anticipatory.

Jason dropped his feet off the desk and stood up. "What can I do for you boys?"

"Sir, could we have a look?" Reed asked, then cleared his throat.

Jason smirked, looked over at Jack, then back at the SFs. "Alright, but absolutely no ass-grabbing."

Reed and Shears rolled their eyes, with Reed muttering, "You wish."

Jason had crossed his arms, preparing to lift off his shirt, but paused and said, "You're not my type."

Jack's lips twitched. Considering the circumstances of the murders, it might not have been appropriate humor, but it was a typical and cliched exchange. Jack wondered just how many men, or women for that matter, had exchanged that banter sequence, and actually meant it when they said, "You're not my type."

Jason lifted off his shirt, wincing only enough for him to know it still hurt but not enough for the guards to detect it. The black tattoo on his left pectoral muscle was very stark against his skin, the black mixed with a reddish color indicating newness. It was healing nicely but it was driving Jason mad. The itching had started.

Shears hissed. "Damn, that looks like it hurts."

"It does, and it's itching something fierce now, too," Jason informed him.

Reed asked, "Didn't think it'd be that big. _Did_ it hurt much?"

Jason snorted and closed the distance, letting them get a good look. "Hell yes, it hurt. A lot." He then described to them exactly what sort of implement had made the tattoo.

"But what made it burn?" Reed asked.

"That, gentlemen, is a mystery. All I know is that this baby's a permanent gift from the Diné and my grandfather."

"Seen enough?" Jack asked, a bit irritated that Jason had indulged their puerile curiosity.

"Sir," Shears answered with Reed nodding once, crisply. They both thanked Jason and followed Jack back out into the corridor.

While Jack understood their curiosity, he knew _exactly_ what they'd do with the information and had to nip that in the butt right now. "When you pass this on, boys," he warned, privately amused at their shocked expressions(mostly because they'd realized their commander was smarter than they were), "give no embellishments. No whining and complaining, either. It's a religious symbol so not only is it allowed, it deserves respect, is that clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Glad we understand each other. Now, keep on your toes and let's have a quiet night."

"Amen to that, sir," Shears said, "Goodnight."

Jack closed the door and locked it, then turned and picked up the box of snacks, putting the sodas into the mini-fridge and the food on top. "You shouldn't indulge them, Jason."

"They'll gossip anyway, Jack. Give 'em accurate info and the gossip is controlled."

"Usually."

"Usually," Jason agreed.

He dropped his shirt on the bed and sat back down, half-watching Jack, half-watching the program playing on the laptop. "Daniel should've thought of this," he pointed at the computer hooked up to the cable port in the wall behind the desk.

Jack shrugged. "He still can. He first has to think of it, then he has to get up and take Alex for a walk to his office."

Jason choked on his Coke and started laughing. "Jack, Alex isn't a dog."

"Woof," Jack answered back, grinning madly. He was going to say something else when the laptop screen caught his attention.

Jason looked at the screen, saw Seven of Nine, and rolled his eyes. "Jack, stop staring at her tits."

"I'm staring at the whole package, wise-ass," Jack answered back as he startled unlacing his boots.

"Hmmm," Jason murmured absently as his attention diverted to Jack's undressing. The moment Jack was in nothing but t-shirt and shorts, Jason settled back on his chair for some satisfied Jack Watching.

Only Jack wasn't having any of it. He leaned over Jason and hit the button to mute the program. Jason watched him, curious, then stared at Jack's finger as he gestured Jason to stand. Jason stayed put so Jack held out his hand.

"C'mere, stand up."

Jason took his hand and stood up. "What's on your mind, Colonel?"

"Not what you're thinking, unfortunately," and Jack led Jason to the other side of the bed and pushed him to sit down. Jack reached in the drawer and took out a jar of the salve Asatay had given them. Jason rolled his eyes as Jack sat down next to him, fingers already in the salve, readying for application.

"It's not necessary. I put some on this morning."

"This morning. How many times a day did Asatay tell you?"

Jason sighed. He couldn't remember the number so he said, "Several."

Jack smirked at him as he rubbed the salve gently into the skin. "It's getting a little better. Should be good to go in a week or so."

"That your professional opinion, Doctor O'Neill?" Jason asked archly.

"It is," Jack told him. As Jason sat there, watching his face, his fingers, as Jack applied the salve, Jack thought about the next item up for discussion. "You wanna talk about where this anger of yours is coming from?" Jason looked startled and slightly suspicious.

"I don't know what..." he started to deny, then thought better of it. This was _Jack_ he was talking to, not Alex. "... to say," he finished.

"Yes you do," Jack countered. "You wanted to rip Matthews' head off his neck. While I can understand that because I wanted to beat the shit out of him, I suspect you want to do more than just injure him. So again, you wanna talk about where this anger is coming from?"

Jason fought against it, but realized that if anyone would understand, it'd be Jack. "I've had clashes with homophobes in the past."

"So've I," Jack nodded, continuing his ministrations.

With a heavy sigh, Jason said, "They were _bad_ ones, Jack. Bad. Maybe you and Daniel are better equipped to handle those people, but all they ended up doing was bringing out a deep rage in me. I don't want them to understand, I don't want to just hurt them." He paused, hoping his words would sink in so he wouldn't have to say it, but when Jack looked at him for more, Jason sighed and fell back on the bed.

With a scolding look, Jack scooted over so he could continue applying the salve. "You expect me to what? Finish that statement?" When his fingers reached the part of the tattoo that circled Jason's nipple, Jason groaned and closed his eyes. "Distracting yourself, or me, won't work."

Jason opened his eyes and stared up at Jack reprovingly. "I'm not doing it on purpose, it's your touch." He paused, then took hold of Jack's hand, stilling him. "I could use some distraction."

"So you haven't talked to Daniel about this anger?" Jack asked, ignoring the comment for the time being.

Jason removed his hand with a sigh, letting Jack return to his job. "No, and I don't plan to."

"You think he won't understand?" Jack said, surprised, and at Jason's shrug, he said, "That's the most irrational thing I've ever heard come from you."

"Do you remember that fucked up mission with the Tok'ra, where Teal'c was killed and brainwashed by Apophis?"

"I'll never forget it," Jack said grimly.

"Before that, Teal'c was angry. He was _beyond_ angry. Said the next time he had Apophis or Tanith within his grasp again, he'd kill them. Daniel told me that Teal'c had asked him that if, given the opportunity, wouldn't he--Daniel--snuff the life out of Apophis with his bare hands?"

Jack nodded. "Daniel told me."

"Did Daniel tell you what his answer had been?" Jason asked, every word emphatically pronounced. Despite Jack nodding, Jason repeated it. "He said that he'd considered it but it didn't mean he'd do it, given a more _rational_ alternative." Jason shook his head, eyes boring into Jack. "How the hell do I tell Daniel that I'd gladly murder people like Matthews and our gay killer?"

He swallowed, suddenly remembering Alex's steadfast determination not to have Al and Connor look at him with disgust. Jason felt Alex's fears were unjustified, whereas he felt his own were. He couldn't have risk having Daniel look at him the same way Alex had feared Al and Connor would.

Jack sighed and moved back to the edge of the bed, finishing the spot he'd left undone on Jason's chest, then put the salve back into the drawer. "I know that's how you feel, but would you _really_ do it?"

Jason stared at him. "Remember my dream, Jalen turning into me?"

Jack tilted his head in thought, nodding as he remembered. "Meaning that your mind was warning you ahead of time how you'd feel?"

"I think I'm warning myself to find another way to feel," Jason told him as he rubbed his forehead.

"Headache?" Jack asked, smirking because Jason had pretty much stressed himself into that headache.

"Yes," Jason answered between gritted teeth.

Jack moved onto the bed and patted the mattress in front of him. Jason sighed and scooted over to lie down, sliding his right hand under his head. "You think I should tell him," he said, caressing Jack's chest with the backs of his left fingers.

"Yes, I think you should tell him. He's already _felt_ it, Jason. Denying it will only make him mad."

"Mad enough to kill?" Jason said sardonically.

"Jason," Jack scolded.

Jason made a face. "I'm feeling sorry for myself, Jack. Indulge me for once."

Jack grinned and brushed his mouth over Jason's. "In more than that, I hope."

"Distracting me again?" Jason asked, smiling around Jack's lips.

"Absolutely," Jack replied as he moved his hand over Jason's chest, gliding over his nipples and down to his navel, fingering the ring Jason had left in.

Jason inhaled sharply, pleased and aroused. "Weren't we going to get you pierced somewhere?" he asked, then began to chuckle softly as Jack refused to answer and instead, moved his entire body over him. He settled his weight on top of him, rubbing his half-hard cock over Jason's.

"There's just one little problem," Jason told him.

Jack shifted, rubbing his groin against Jason's as he settled his weight more deliberately. "Doesn't feel like a little problem to me," he said, chuckling, "nor a problem, come to that. The only problem I see is that we both still have our clothes on."

Jason sighed, mock-resignation all over his face. "Yeah, well, we _are_ in your quarters, have limited supplies, and this bed is way too small."

"That all?" Jack smirked.

Jason pretended to think it over, then pretended to remember something extremely important. "Oh yeah! And it's been _so long_ since I had any."

"It was yesterday, smart ass, and _not_ with me, I might add."

"Exactly my point, _smart ass_."

Jack traced the edge of the tattoo, moving to the underside of the design. Jason's nipple hardened from the tactile sensations, sending shivers throughout the rest of him, raising up goosebumps. "Somehow, I don't think those SFs appreciated this baby as much as I do," he said, smiling seductively as he raised his gaze to Jason's.

Jason mimed biting at him, a signal, and Jack attacked his mouth, kissing him deeply, giving his tongue over for a thorough wrestling match. Between them, Jack touched the elastic waistband of Jason's boxers with his deft fingers and slid them underneath to wrap around their prize.

Jason sucked in a breath and bit his lip around a smile. "Careful now," he breathed.

"Now _why_ would I want to be careful?" Jack asked softly as he pulled up with twist and pushed back down, ending it with a firm push against Jason's balls that always brought heat shivers to the small of Jason's back, making him squirm. The look on his face and feel of his body were too much and Jack kissed him again, harder, continuing his purposeful manipulation of Jason's cock.

Before he could let Jack bring him off, Jason needed skin, needed to smell that scent from under Jack's arms, feel the sparse, silky hairs rub against his skin. His tattoo. Breaking the kiss, he pulled his other hand free and pulled Jack's shirt up, making him release his cock momentarily as he lifted it over his head and arms.

Before it hit the floor, Jack's hand was back where it belonged, his free hand cradling Jason's neck. Jason reached for Jack's dick, to return the wonderful pleasure but Jack shook his head. "Just lie back, Jason," Jack ordered. "Grab hold of the bed and give me some of that hip action."

Jason complied and through shallow, stuttered breaths, fucked Jack's hand, keeping up with the stroking as it got faster and tighter. He let out a choked gasp when he felt his orgasm was imminent and Jack immediately bent over and took the head of his cock into his hot, wet mouth. He sucked hard and greedily and the sight and feel of it brought Jason off like a bottle rocket. He choked on his groans as he arched back, eyes closed, hands now holding Jack's head as he pumped shot after shot into his eager mouth.

Jack let his dick plop from his mouth and fall heavily to his abdomen, wet and spent, and the elastic band tried to spring back up but caught Jason's pubic hairs instead. Gasping, Jason rescued himself and pulled his shorts up, then ignored the matter entirely as he reached up and threaded his fingers through Jack's hair. "Jesus, you're so fucking good."

"Resistance is futile," Jack muttered.

In astonishment, Jason stared back at him, then both started laughing. "Where've I heard that before?" he asked.

Grinning mischievously, Jason pulled Jack into a long kiss as he pushed him onto his back. "Grab the bed, Jack," he said, whispering his warning as he moved swiftly down his body. He seized his own prize as he cupped Jack's balls and wrapped his lips around his cock. It didn't take long before Jack held fistfuls of Jason's black hair, hips pumping with feral need as Jason took his full length, face red from exertion.

The sight of him damn near brought him off. With a guttural warning, Jack grasped Jason's head and held him against his groin. Jason growled over his cock, his fingernails digging into his ass cheeks, and swallowed repeatedly, urging Jack to come. When he did, Jack threw his head back and jerked his hips, thrusting against Jason's mouth, emptying his balls down his throat.

A minute later, Jason pulled back, tongue licking around the head, making Jack grab at Jason and pull him up against him. Kissing him hard, Jack threatened, "I'm gonna fuck you so hard when we get home."

"Think so, do you?" Jason asked, loving the idea so much he wished that Jack had just done that very thing.

They shared come-flavored kisses, with Jack accidentally flicking a nail over Jason's tattoo. When he winced, Jack caressed him apologetically, then stretched across the bed and retrieved the jar of salve from the drawer.

"You already did that," Jason observed, not moving.

"Yeah, but..." Jack said, applying more. Going back to an earlier tease, he asked, "So what was that thing about piercing?"

"Just that you should get a nipple pierced."

"Only if Daniel does."

"Chicken," Jason said, clucking afterward. "You'll like it, I promise."

"Not the piercing part, Jason."

"It'll be worth it," Jason sing-songed.

"Then you do it."

"I have my navel ring, and don't change the subject."

"Jason, I am not having a wire threaded through my nipple."

Jason grinned his head off, enjoying this. "It won't hurt, Jack."

"The hell it won't."

"Only if you _want_ it to. You get iced down or get injected with lidocaine--or lanocaine, whichever one inhibits bleeding as well as feeling--"

"You forgot?"

"Don't change the subject, Jack," Jason warned again.

"Jason, it's just not me."

"Bullshit."

"I like my nipples the way they are."

"So do I. But consider that it'll get me and Daniel off to be able to play with it," and he stuck out his tongue, miming the actions that Jack was used to getting on the head of his dick or around his asshole.

Jack groaned. "I'll think about it."

"That's my man."

**. . .**

After breakfast the next morning, Hammond, Jack and the others met up with Cari and Pederson in the security office.

"So, what've we got Matthews doing this morning?" Jack asked.

"He's on this floor," Hammond explained. "Standing guard outside the freight elevator in B Wing."

"With Hamilton?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, with Hamilton," Pederson answered. "Bastard tries anything, we'll know it was him."

"Does Hamilton know about Matthews?" Daniel asked.

"I don't think so. We didn't tell him, at any rate," Jack replied. "I'm more worried about him _helping_ Matthews."

"Would he?" Daniel asked.

"You never know," Jason observed.

"When do we put in the plan to bait the killer?" Hammond asked, not having been briefed yet on the time frame. He hated having to ask but holding endless teleconference briefings had forced him to give Jack the authority to take over the hunt. Now, he finally had time to go over the plan directly and he felt a little better.

Sitting against the edge of one of the tables, Jack pursed his lips. "Halfway through lunch, sir. This afternoon, there're no shipments coming in, no visitors. We can be safely sure of no additional people."

"Agreed, sir," Pederson said after checking his two clipboards.

"And how will we be monitoring our people?" Hammond asked.

"Here, sir," Cari said, retrieving the surveillance devices from a locked safe. "These are small enough to be hidden and still pick up sound."

Daniel stared at the round, black disk no bigger than a dime. "Wow."

Cari grinned her head off and exchanged quick looks with a smug Sam. "Got these from the NID a while back, courtesy of Agent Barrett. We worked on them some more, however, and all the bugs, no pun intended, have been worked out."

"We?" Jack asked, but he knew as his eyes rested on Sam.

She held one out to him. "Their range was 50 yards. It's now 200."

"Nice," Jack said, turning it over in his palm. "How do you put them on."

"Well," Sam grimaced, "that's the bad news. Old-fashioned Superglue."

"Thank god for that glue remover they came out with," Daniel said as he and Alex winced.

Cari retrieved the Superglue from a drawer. "May as well get it over with, sirs. You'll get these under your right ribcage, that way there'll be no interference from your heart."

"That really a problem?" Alex asked as Cari lifted his shirt and pressed one against his skin. He felt the old flush of familiar arousal, then it was gone. He was almost disappointed.

"Actually, it is," Sam answered as she did the same for Daniel. "The heart can be picked up through the simple microphone so imagine its amplification through a transmitter."

"Right," Daniel mumbled as he winced a little, feeling the skin stretch. "Good thing I don't have much hair there."

If Hammond hadn't been there, Jack would have teased him. Instead, he said, "Okay, folks. For our own benefit as well as the General's, let's discuss the plan of attack, see if there are any holes."

"In the middle of lunch," Daniel recited, "I leave, saying I have something to check on something in my lab. At that point, people will assume that I'll be escorted to my lab, but if the killer is watching me, he'll know that's not true, that I've disobeyed orders and left alone."

"Same here," Alex went on. "A few minutes after you leave, I'll spill coffee on myself, then head for our locker room to change, alone. At that point, if the killer's after me, he'll have a perfect opportunity."

"I'll make a note in my report," Hammond said wryly, "that your disobeying of orders was actually _under_ orders." Everyone smiled. "Now, we monitor the situations of both men using what?"

"We'll have these on us, sir," Sam said, holding up something like a palm pilot and gave Hammond one of the two new communication earpieces she held in her other hand.

Cari handed out earpieces to everyone else, except Daniel and Alex, and placed her own over her ear and positioned the thin listening end over the front to show everyone how they were to be worn. It looked ordinary, and like something a member of security would be wearing, but more importantly, it couldn't be seen unless someone looked directly at her ear. "We'll be monitoring the both of you with these," she said, waving the pad, "and I won't be activating the earpieces until lunchtime."

"Are they that distracting?" Daniel asked.

Both she and Cari nodded. "There's no way we'll be able to concentrate on work. When we activate the pads, we'll have to monitor them." The two women exchanged grins. "Don't do anything to embarrass yourselves. Remember who's listening."

"Well," Alex said as blandly as he could, "if I let out a girly scream before getting my throat cut, I'll expect you to forget about that as you come running to my rescue."

Sam borrowed Teal'c's ability to deadpan a delivery. "By all means, let out a _girly_ scream, Alex. I'd like to know what one sounds like."

Alex coughed, looking more embarrassed than apologetic, and said, "I'll see what I can do."

"Alright, let's get to it," Hammond suggested. "And remember. I realize this is interfering with our work schedules, but until lunchtime, no one goes anywhere alone."

**. . .**

Daniel checked his watch. 1120. Ten minutes till the official hour for lunch. He looked over at Jack, hunched over his lab desk, reading, and found it strangely annoying that Jack could concentrate anywhere. Daniel also found Jack's presence distracting, but not because it was _Jack_ but because Jack periodically took a break to stretch and walk about the room. He invariably made Daniel do the same thing.

Daniel dropped his pencil to the desk and stood up, picking up his jacket and slipping it on. "Whaddya say we head out early?"

Jack dropped his pen and rubbed at his face. "Good idea." He stood up and stretched, groaning as bones creaked. "Let's go."

On their way up to level 16 and Mess Hall #2, they met up with Sam and Teal'c. Entering the Mess, they found Jason and his team already going through the line. Jack smirked at him as they entered the line behind him.

"Sneaky bastard," Jack said.

"And you're not?" Jason whispered.

They got their food and settled at one of the larger tables. Conversation was a bit more active while they ate, mostly to distract themselves from the times their teammates would leave the Mess Hall.

At 1202, Daniel started a conversation about one of translations he was working on and that he'd been waiting for a download of information from Area 51. At 1205, his cue came. "Damn it!" he said, getting up.

"What's the matter?" Sam asked.

"I forgot to leave my terminal open."

"Daniel, they can wait," Jack told him.

"No, their lab's going to be busy for the rest of the afternoon so unless I get the information now, I won't be able to until tomorrow." He picked up his tray, saying absently, "Don't worry, I'll tell security," and left in a rush after depositing his tray and dishes for cleanup.

Jack shook his head. "You'd think he'd calm down about research after all this time."

Everyone else started commenting on it, then at 1208, Alex spilled his coffee. To his dismay, instead of aiming at his stomach, his elbow bounced off the edge of the table and the mug literally fell into his lap. "Shit!" he exclaimed, then glanced at Jason and Jack. "Sorry, sirs."

"Go change your clothes, Major," Jason sighed. "And alert security on your way so they can contact others along your route."

"Yes, sir."

Sauntering out, Alex was glad his shirt covered his groin or he'd look like he'd pissed his pants. On his way, he signaled to Masters, one of the security guards stationed between the Mess Hall and the elevator. "Going down to the locker room to change, so notify Pederson to alert the detail on Level 25."

"Yes, sir," the guard called out, pointedly trying not to smirk.

**. . .**

Daniel got to his lab alone, having convinced the guard down the corridor to stay at his post on the grounds that if anyone came for him, the guard would see him pass. Sitting at his desk, Daniel connected his computer to the special Area 51 modem meant for large downloads/uploads. He checked his watch, then pulled out his cell phone and text messaged Bill Lee at R&D. A prearranged file was automatically sent, file size sufficiently large enough to back up Daniel's story in case anyone came in.

Getting up to take a piss in his office bathroom, Daniel frankly hoped that the killer was after him, not Alex. While Alex knew how to defend himself, Daniel figured that those other men did, too. He also had experience on his side and since talking was one of his gifts--or so he'd been told numerous times in his life--then perhaps he could psych the killer long enough to get an advantage.

Leaving the bathroom, Daniel next checked the place where his backup was hidden. In the middle left drawer of his lab desk, Daniel pulled out his keys and opened the drawer. Inside sat the civilian-owned 9mm that not even Jack knew was there. Four years before, Jason had given it to him--along with the new lab desk--and told him to keep the gun because of where he worked.

Closing the drawer and leaving it unlocked, Daniel smiled to himself, fondly remembering how he'd given Jason shit about the gun but not the desk. He'd never used the gun, mostly because he'd forgotten it was there. For once, Daniel was glad he _did_ remember. He only hoped he didn't end up killing the murdering bastard.

Daniel heard the musical note that told him the download was complete. Moving back over to his desk, he clicked on the modem and disconnected, then moved around to the front of his desk and knelt down. The back of the computer was accessible through the opening and Daniel reached in to disengage the switch Sam had rigged up for him. Ingenious thing, he thought.

He glanced at his watch and snorted softly. 1221. He'd only been in here for fifteen minutes but it seemed longer for some reason. Lunch would be served till 1300, however, so he figured he had a little time before the halls would be crowded again and the killer lost his opportunity.

Double-checking the connections on the back of the computer, Daniel began to straighten when a voice inside his head screamed, _killer_. His bulkhead door whined shut and Daniel knew he was no longer alone. Still in a crouch, he pivoted on his booted toes and moved to the lab desk next to him, and to the gun in the drawer.

Years of practical experience had the gun in his hand in less than two seconds, and one more second when he was standing and aiming at the same time, gun barrel pointing at the source of the intrusion.

Daniel looked into the face of his visitor: Sergeant Doug Hamilton--the man he'd worried about supposedly being at risk--stood there with a zat in one hand and what looked like a wire garrote in the other. Daniel could feel unstable emotions under the calm visage, confirming that Hamilton wasn't a visitor, but the killer. He didn't even blink at the sight of a gun sight trained on his face.

"Hamilton," Daniel greeted.

"Doctor Jackson," Hamilton said with derisive emphasis on the professional part of his name. With quick, decisive movement, he zatted the door's controls, fusing them shut. "I will not tolerate any interruptions. They'll have to burn through to rescue your faggot ass. But, by then, it'll be too late."

"And too late for you as well, Hamilton," Daniel told him, confused by Hamilton's actions. The man wasn't as smart as Daniel thought. He hadn't thought ahead, hadn't realized that Daniel's office had _two_ doors, and that rear door was open. From where Hamilton stood, he couldn't see it, blocked as it was by a conveniently placed locker.

Months before, Daniel had gotten tired of people glancing in at him as they walked by, so he'd placed one of his lockers so that it blocked the view. While closing the door would have done that, Daniel felt the need to have it open; sometimes, it got a little too tomb-like inside these offices.

Daniel made sure that he didn't give away the unknown advantage he had, keeping his eyes trained on Hamilton, as well as the gun sight.

"Doesn't matter if I'm caught or killed. You're going to be my masterpiece, the message everyone will get loud and clear."

Daniel felt a chill go down his spine. No for the threat, but for the reason behind it. Hamilton didn't care if he died, meaning he had nothing to lose, that Daniel had no chance in hell of talking his way out of this one. Still, he needed to stall till Jack and the others got here. "What message would that be?" he asked.

"You would not understand," Hamilton was saying.

"You're a homophobe," Daniel told him calmly. "You're all alike, all of you needing to justify your hatreds, your killings, and all because you know you're full of shit."

Hamilton stepped to his left, placing the desk between them, part of his attention on Daniel's gun, part of it on Daniel himself. He seemed indifferent that Daniel's gun had fucked up the plan to kill him. He _had_ to know that even if he had the zat, he could get Daniel only once before Daniel took him down.

"Where's that partner of yours?" he asked.

Hamilton's expression was one of sick satisfaction. "Matthews has taken one for the team."

**. . .**

Having left lunch early, too, Jason was heading with Jack and the others for the security office when he caught something in the air. He slowed his step, then abruptly stopped in the middle of the corridor. Annoyed passersby said nothing, considering his rank, but Alex grabbed Jason's arm and pulled him out of the way.

"Jason, what's the matter?" Jack asked.

Jason breathed in again and it was still there. Without reasoning it out or second-guessing, he turned back the way they'd come and started running toward B-Wing. "C'mon!"

With stunned looks, the others followed him, and as they rounded one corridor for another, Jack realized where they were going. "Jason, why are we..." he started to ask, but they were already there, at the freight elevator. The question was now moot.

They looked down at Matthews' slain body lying in a twisted heap on the floor, a small pool of blood underneath him.

"Goddammit," Sam exclaimed.

Jack turned to her, alarmed. "What?" he asked, then saw the pad in her hands, and the one in Cari's, and knew what was wrong. They'd forgotten to turn on the receivers. Then Jack checked his watch. No, they hadn't forgotten. They'd just miscalculated the time.

 _"Where's that partner of yours?"_ came Daniel's voice through the receiving equipment.

"Shit, let's go!" Jack yelled and ran like hell back to the elevator. Behind him, he heard Cari notifying security.

Moving aside to get out of the way, Jack waited for the group to get into the main elevator before he punched the button for Daniel's floor. When the car began to move, Jack asked Jason, "How'd you know?"

Jason looked around him, then back to Jack. Embarrassment and alarm was written all over him. "I smelled the blood."

"What?"

Jason shook his head, indicating he couldn't explain it either, and instead of calling Alex over the radio, pulled out his cell, dialing the man's number. The elevator seemed to take forever, and so did Alex's response. The doors to the elevator opened just as Alex answered. "Where are you?" Jason asked as the others filed out and he followed.

_"I'm still in the locker room. No one's showed up."_

"He's gone after Daniel. Get up here."

Jason didn't wait for Alex to reply and hung up as he ran after the others, catching up with the group just as it headed around a connecting hallway. It seemed to take forever to get to Daniel's lab and Jason cursed the fact that Daniel's office was so far from the elevator.

As they got to Daniel's main door, Jack pulled out his sidearm. The others followed suit, with Teal'c and Sam turning on their zats. Jack slid his key card through the port but nothing happened, not even the sound to recognize the card. He tried again, then punched at a few buttons.

"It's jammed," he said between gritted teeth.

"The other door," Jason said and was gone before Jack moved.

They came to an abrupt halt, finding the back door open. The locker Daniel had placed to block off his office served his purpose, but it also served Jack's, letting them listen in on what was going on and determine when would be the time to rush in. And hopefully not get Daniel killed in the process.

**. . .**

Daniel stared coldly at Hamilton. "So it doesn't really matter _who_ you kill, does it. All for the cause, right? For whatever fucked up reasons you have, you'll even kill your own."

Hamilton sneered in distaste. "He wasn't one of my own."

"Yes he was. He hated gays."

"Queers!" Hamilton corrected. "Fags, ass bandits, or as the Bible calls them, sodomites. You took a perfectly decent word and corrupted it just like you corrupted everything else."

"Really?" Daniel said, ignoring the 'you.' "That's some kind of power you've given them. Funny how it seems to have escaped their notice."

"Shut the fuck up."

Daniel snorted derisively. "The classic reply of the mal-adjusted."

"Keep it up, Jackson, or--"

"Or what?" Daniel asked, turning slightly and cupping the butt of the gun with his left hand. "You'll _kill_ me? Please, don't threaten me with the obvious. It won't work."

"You'll die a little slower, a little more painfully."

"I don't think so," Daniel said, twitching the muzzle of the gun to prove his point. "You know I know how to use this."

"Only because that ass-plower O'Neill had to show you."

"Really?" Daniel asked. "Damn, and here it was me thinking it was my combat experience."

"You've never been in the military, asshole."

"You don't need to be military to be in combat, dumbass. And this place makes my case for me."

"You're so deluded," Hamilton spat. "These people have done everything for you. Got you a wife, a decent life, then you pissed it away, let her get taken, all so you could hoodwink these people into thinking you're special." As his rant progressed, Hamilton's voice rose. "You're a narcissistic prick! Your ego let those fucking snakeheads know where we live! You're directly responsible for every bad thing that's happened here, but the worst of it all is that you're a goddamn queer and you did it all so you could get new ass targets!"

"What's the matter, Hamilton?" Daniel taunted, easily ignoring the accusations because he'd heard them all before. "Jealous?"

"Fuck you."

"Sorry, you're not my type. But you're pissed about that, aren't you? That I never paid you any attention. I must be directly responsible for your not getting laid in the last ten years or that you're so fucking stupid, your reenlistment didn't go through?" Unlike Hamilton, Daniel _had_ done his homework. A lot of homework, on everyone.

"Shut up!" Hamilton screamed.

"Is there an echo in here?" Daniel asked, taking better aim by planting his feet more squarely.

"Your unholy, filthy existence in this place is an affront to all decent god-fearing people."

"Methinks he doth protest too much. Want to fuck me, Hamilton? Is that why you killed those men? Because you couldn't have me and you didn't know how to handle it?"

Hamilton was raging. Spit flew from his mouth like a rabid dog as he talked. "Your kind need to disappear, Jackson. And if I had my way, you'd all go the way of that teenage faggot from Wyoming."

It took all of Daniel's strength not to shoot the smug, self-righteous bastard right between the eyes. He still might. "Yes, it would figure that you're just like those cowards."

"They were doing god's work!"

**. . .**

Jack rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Daniel, let's get this over with."

**. . .**

Daniel was tempted, very tempted, to back this man into a corner with all his hypocrisy, but he was dealing with an unbalanced mind and had to stay sharp, ready for the trigger finger that would send electrical discharge his way.

"God's work," he repeated. "Funny how people use that excuse when they've run out of everyone else to blame for their abnormal thinking."

"I'm going to gut you," Hamilton glowered dangerously... and fired the zat.

Daniel didn't fire back, but moved just in time to avoid the blast. He felt a tingling outside of his body, like being near electrical power lines.

"I'm going to put you in a judas chair," Hamilton spat.

"Promises, promises," Daniel muttered as he rolled onto his haunches and strained his ears. Movement to his right nearly made him lose his concentration, but his heart soared in the knowledge that he had backup waiting.

"Stop hiding and face your execution, you sorry sonofawhore."

"Gladly," Daniel rumbled between clenched teeth. He counted off three seconds, then rolled past the right side of the lab desk and when he was in the clear, brought his gun to bear on Hamilton. Whether it was timing, luck, or experience, Daniel fired off two shots a split second before Hamilton fired his zat. The impacts from the bullets caused Hamilton to fall backward, but his own shot was accurate enough to take Daniel down.

**. . .**

Jack lunged through the doorway and around the locker room. The sight of Hamilton on the floor was a relief but it was muted by his terrified concern for Daniel. He and Jason reached him, their hearts pumping wildly at the sight of his prone body. Jack held his breath and touched Daniel's throat. He had a pulse.

"Thank god," he said, letting out a breath.

So did Jason, and he sat back on his heels, hand squeezing Jack's shoulder just as Teal'c moved past to check the body lying next to the door. Careful not to step in the blood pooling underneath the chest wounds, he stared down at the open, partly-glazed eyes.

"This man is dead," he announced.

Jack twisted his mouth in disgust. "Saves us from having to house the miserable bastard for the rest of his life."

"And allow him to spread his hatred," Jason added. Teal'c looked over at them, brow raised, but remained silent.

Pederson and Cari came running in and Jack looked up at them and nodded. Pederson got on the radio and sent out the All Clear and called for a medical team. "I'll be back, sir," he told Jack and left at a half-run.

Sam ran into the room, passing him, followed by Al and Connor, then Alex, who'd caught up with them. "We have it on tape, sir," she told Jack.

Jack nodded. "Thank you, Carter."

"And when I say 'all' I mean 'all'," Sam added in an undertone.

Jack shrugged, and stood aside as the medics came in. "Fortunately, Daniel can hold his own on the rumor mill over this one."

"Rumor mill's a big one, sir," she said.

"Then it's a good idea he's a civilian, Carter."

"Yes, sir. I hope they follow the regs on that," she said, inclining her head toward to hallway and the group of SFs.

"Oh, they'd better," Jack replied, mentally drawing up the memo he planned to post everywhere.

The medical team came in and they got out of the way, letting the corpsman lift Daniel onto the stretcher. After they left, the forensics team moved in to take pictures before loading the dead man into a body bag.

Jack touched Jason's shoulder, motioning him further away from the scene. "What was that about smelling blood?" That got their respective teammates' attention. "Was it like what happened with your sudden hearing?"

"No," Jason said, staring at the pool of blood. With a grimace, he turned and left the office. Jack and the others followed him and stepped out of the way when forensics moved past them with the body bag now on a stretcher.

"What then?" Jack asked.

"I don't know!" Jason hissed, getting suddenly angry.

"Hey, hey, calm down, I'm only asking. There's no need for you to get tetchy."

Jason closed his eyes and took a deep breath, knowing Jack was right. Opening his eyes, he found six expectant faces turned to him. "I'm just worried about Daniel. I'm sorry."

"S'okay, Jason," Sam said, rubbing his arm.

Jason gave Jack another apologetic look and Jack finally nodded, accepting it. "Listen," Jason told him, and the others by extension, "I don't understand why I could smell it, but I did. Just as I can smell the soap you used cleaning up this morning or Cari's body spray or the fact that I can smell the blood all the way over here and it's turning my stomach."

"It's been several hours," Cari said with amazement. "You can still smell the body spray?"

Jason rolled his eyes, wishing he'd kept his mouth shut. "Yeah, Cari, I can smell it."

"What perfume am I wearing?" Sam asked.

"You're wearing perfume?" Jack asked, arching a brow sarcastically. "I thought that was just expensive deodorant."

Sam was going to snipe back at him, but saw the strained look on Jason's face and instantly decided otherwise. "Jason, sorry. I believe you. I just think it's... weird."

"That's a word and a half, Sam," he told her. "C'mon, let's get to the infirmary."

Jack suddenly grabbed his arm, shaking his head. "We'll get there soon, I promise, but right now, we can't. We have to complete our report first. Daniel's okay, Jason. He's not going anywhere."

Jason clenched his jaw but obeyed, admitting that Jack was right.

Running footsteps caught their attention as Pederson returned with a few SFs. "We've been to their quarters and here's what we've found out so far..."

_A few hours later..._

Janet walked into the briefing room and nodded her respect to Hammond. On her heels were Jack, Jason, Sam, Teal'c, Cari and Pederson. Alex, Al and Connor had been asked to remain in the infirmary to keep an eye on Daniel--much to his annoyance.

"How's Doctor Jackson?" Hammond asked, gesturing for everyone to take their seats at the table.

"He's fine, sir," Janet informed him as she took the seat to his right. "And in the same condition as anyone else after a heavy zat blast to the chest, but he'll be fit for duty tomorrow. However, since his office is now a crime scene, and the attack was also a stressful event--despite what Doctor Jackson says--I'm recommending that he be sent home for forty-eight hours."

Hammond nodded. "Very well, doctor, and I tend to agree. Zat blasts aren't exactly fun, but having faced down a murderer like Hamilton, that's definitely not a picnic." He peered over the table's occupants, then looked at Jason. "Where're your men, Colonel?"

Janet answered instead, trying to keep a straight, professional face. "Daniel did his usual 'I'm fine' routine, General, so I _invited_ Colonel Coburn's teammates to keep him company until you've cleared him to go home."

"You have jurisdiction, Doctor."

"Yes, sir, but you may have wanted to debrief him about Hamilton, so I ordered him to stay put."

"Thank you, Doctor. I'll go see him when we're through here. In fact, I'm advising all personnel clear of duty to go home and catch up with their families now that the lockdown is over with." He was met with grateful looks. "I wish I could give the entire base the next two days off, but I can't."

He cleared his throat, hoping to get this done as quickly as possible. "Let's have your report, Lieutenant. Who dropped the ball? How the hell did Hamilton get down to Doctor Jackson without anyone knowing?"

"Sir, Hamilton wasn't a suspect," Pederson informed him with just the right amount of subservient guilt, "so our security personnel didn't question why he needed to see Doctor Jackson. As to how it was managed, sir, it seems that Hamilton and Matthews never left for the mess hall."

Pederson took a deep breath as he handed the General a copy of the criminal report. "I relieved them personally for lunch, since the area could be freed for one hour, but they never appeared in the Mess Hall. I _assumed_ , after the fact, that they'd never left their post. The only one who dropped the ball, sir, was me. If I had only given orders that the camera in that section be monitored, we would have noticed that it was out of commission."

General Hammond gave Pederson a more tolerant look. He had to admit that it was an unlikely place to watch, given the rest of the base. "You didn't fail in your duty, Lieutenant," he informed him. "You were right to have your people monitor the rest of the base, so don't beat yourself up about it. Continue."

"Over the last couple of hours, our investigation found that both Hamilton and Matthews were involved in the murders, with Hamilton as the leader, and killer, and Matthews acting as his look-out and convenient alibi. Some of the facts that are coming to light support this, sir. We also found evidence in both their quarters that alludes to this partnership but doesn't exactly prove that Matthews helped."

"What sort of evidence?"

"Emails and photographs."

"Whether the evidence secures their guilt doesn't really matter now, sir," Jack told Hammond. "Both men are dead."

"This may be true, Colonel," Hammond replied sternly, "but the Judge Advocate will need it for the record. What are the pictures of?"

"The dead men, sir," Jason answered, clearing his throat. "Taken before, during, and after the attacks. Trophies."

"Does that mean they were serial killers?" Hammond asked, alarmed.

"No, sir. There's not enough evidence anyway to make that determination. Going by what I've seen so far, Matthews was a simple--although there's nothing simple about it--disciple, a fanatical follower for whatever religious beliefs he felt justified his and Hamilton's actions. Hamilton, for all his bullshit religious belief, was sociopathic, but the name for _what_ he evolved into is a Type 3 or 4 Assassin."

"A what?" Sam asked.

"An article I read from the medical journals on profiling. Assassins, those who've been assigned to kill," and Jason glanced quickly at Jack, considering both he and Jack had been in that type of service before, "They aren't what I'm talking about. These are sick people who kill on their own. Type 1 is political, type 2 is ego-supportive, killing to gain favor like the man who killed John Lennon. Type 3 is a psychopath/sociopath. Type 4 is a killer who is delusional, who thinks that the victims were a threat. Whether to the object of their obsession or to themselves."

"3 and 4 sound the same," Hammond said.

"They're very close, sir, and I'm going only by the limited knowledge of what we have so far. A profiler could better analyze these deaths and the killer. From what I know so far, the murders in themselves are not indicative of sociopathy but these two men were definitely sociopathic. Everything they did was done without guilt, remorse or conscience. They weren't insane. They knew that what they were doing was wrong and were in control of their actions. They made choices, planned the murders, hid their evidence."

"Where's the evidence now?" Hammond asked.

"Security lock-up, sir," Pederson answered. "The pictures as well as the laptops each man owned."

"Sir," Jack went on, his expression dark. "The bad news is that it appears that Hamilton had copies of the crime scenes, and a list of targets. He sent them out through his email account."

When he hesitated, Hammond grew irritated. "I'm not getting whatever it is you're trying to tell me, Colonel."

"Sir, it's highly likely that they've been passing this list around to _like-minded_ individuals off and on base."

Hammond's face turned angry. "A search probably wouldn't do much good."

"Not unless you plan to search all computers, sir," Sam informed the General. "That might find one or two of them, but chances are they were smart and had the emailed copies sent to addresses off-base. A more intensive examination of every hard drive would take a while."

Hammond sighed. "Time we can't afford to spend on them. We'll sort them out eventually since hate-mongers eventually feel compelled to announce themselves to the world."

"Sir," Jack said, his tone one of warning. "The significance of the number of people Hamilton and Matthews were corresponding with... it makes for extremely disquieting news because..."

"Because it means that they likely had indirect help in order to carry out their plans," Hammond finished. "I've already been thinking along those lines, Jack. No one could do what they did without help. This place is very secure. For a crime as personal as murder, the cameras should have caught _some_ evidence. That they didn't, and there's no _evidence_ of tampering, leads me to the obvious conclusion." He sighed and stared at the SFs in the same way Jack had.

"For this reason, I've decided to implement a new psych evaluation for all current personnel as well as part of the new criteria for assignment to this base. The job in overseeing this evaluation and determining its outcome will be the responsibility of Dr. Larsen." He looked over at Jason. "Colonel, I'd like you to be available to assist if she requires it."

"Yes, sir, but what exactly is this new psych evaluation?"

"I've had her help in drawing up a secondary profile for all personnel, military and civilian, on this base. It's one designed to pinpoint possible personality problems that the other psych profiles did not catch. Direct interviews are too time-consuming so the more in-depth evals will be written tests in the form of questionnaires. Any problems found in those questionnaires will _then_ be taken to a third level involving an interview. I've already arranged to have the questionnaires delivered. Your help will be in reading them and comparing the data to her base models."

"I'm familiar with the drill, sir," Jason said, nodding.

"Very well. Coordinate with her next week and while you're at the Beta Site. She'll have some of the work done already and I'm sure you can work on it while you're off-world."

"Yes, sir. Completed work can be easily sent back during our prearranged check-ins here. What's the time frame for the questionnaires?"

"Five days. Failure to complete the questionnaire will result in automatic reassignment. Some people will have extenuating circumstances so this isn't a black and white order, but everyone who can complete the tests, will, or they'll be promptly reassigned."

"We start this over the weekend or next week?" Jack asked.

"The date on the material is Monday, and it's expected to be turned in to an immediate superior or to Dr. Larsen's office by Friday morning." Hammond paused and looked at everyone. "I don't have to tell you people how disappointed I am that this is necessary, but I also feel that perhaps this should have been instituted in the first place. I don't like the fact that men had to die in order for us to learn from this mistake."

"Amen, sir," Jack said.

"The suspects' bodies are in the morgue, aren't they?" Hammond asked.

"Yes, sir," Jack answered.

"Soon as we can, I want their bodies transferred to the hospital."

"Working on it, sir," Janet answered. "We'll get them over to the Academy hospital morgue by morning."

"Very good, Doctor. Thank you."

"Yes, sir," Janet nodded and left smartly.

Hammond and Jason got up and flanked Jack at the observation window. A few seconds later, everyone else joined them.

"I wish I could say that people were different on Chulak," Teal'c said sadly, "but they are not."

"Hatred and love go hand in hand, my friend," Hammond told him and Teal'c bowed his head once.

"Just wish the hatred was left to an obvious enemy, not the enemy from within," Sam said, having had to live with her own brand of it for quite a while.

Jack suddenly sighed with anger. "The ones here know they're wrong, know they're being hunted down, and they'll lie their asses off on those questionnaires."

"Are you saying they're a waste of time, Jack?" Hammond asked.

"No, sir. The additional evals will be useful. What I'm saying is that just like people who've learned to fool lie detector tests, people with something to hide will learn in short order how to answer the evals without arousing suspicion."

"Well, I think that a few questions should be designed to fool the testee," Jason added. "When Dr. Larsen goes over the results, those questions placed with other answers will give us a guide. Not proof. Just a finger point, like a guard dog. _Look here_. Sadly, there's one goal those bastards have achieved, outside of murder."

"What's that, Colonel?" Hammond asked.

"They've made us paranoid, sir."

Hammond looked disgusted, but he agreed. "As if we needed more of that."

"We need this time off, sir, that's for sure," Jack put in.

"You have the weekend, Jack. That's all I can do."

"Well, how about an impromptu indoor barbecue?" Jason asked. "I can't invite the whole base but our teams plus Janet, yourself, a few members of security," and he winked at Cari and Pederson. "I know you have plans, sir," Jason went on, to Hammond, "but if we may be excused for the rest of the day, you could join us for a bit?"

Hammond grinned, liking the idea. "Done."

**. . .**

Daniel stared at the ceiling of the infirmary room, sighing with boredom, waiting to be released. In the chair beside the bed, Alex sat, leaning forward, forearms on his knees. Al and Connor had been dismissed, much to their relief; Daniel hadn't been all that happy with three of them as babysitters.

"You're awfully quiet," Daniel said, looking over at him.

Alex sat up and rubbed his palms on his thighs. "I know. Was just thinking over a few things."

"Like?"

"I was really worried about you and Jason."

Daniel frowned at him, sensing that Alex was holding something back. "What else?"

Alex glanced up at him, startled. "I'm sorry?"

"There's something else. What?"

"Daniel!" Alex objected.

"I can't read your mind, Alex, but I can tell, whether I want to or not, when I'm being lied to or evaded. You're hiding something. What?"

"After you went to your lab, we left the Mess Hall early. When we found Matthews, Cari realized we'd forgotten to turn on the surveillance equipment."

"What?" Daniel asked loudly as he sat up, feet over the side. "Then how'd you know I was in trouble?"

Alex cringed again. "Oh boy."

" _What_?" Daniel said, getting to his feet.

"Jason knew something was wrong, but not necessarily with you. He ran like hell to B-Wing..."

"Where Matthews was killed," Daniel finished. "So what you're saying is that Jason knew something was wrong before you guys did?"

"Yeah."

"How exactly?"

Alex glanced around, then lowered his voice to a whisper. "He _smelled_ it."

"It?"

"The blood. From two corridors away."

"He smelled the blood," Daniel repeated.

He remembered their first visit to Adriann's home planet, and the poisonous bite from Tam. Adriann had said that Jason might, every once in a while, exhibit something out of the ordinary, but Daniel had thought Adriann had meant the telepathic bond. Had Lin's ceremony awakened something?

"I have to talk to him about this. Typical of him not to say anything. What'd he tell you and Jack? Anything?"

"He's dismissing it," Alex said, rolling his eyes. "He says it was nothing."

"Figures. Is his sense of smell still hyper-active?"

"It... was."

"When?"

"When I stayed overnight with him. Everything was hyper-sensitive, not just his sense of smell."

"And now it's not?"

"No, it went back to normal. I think he's relieved."

"I don't blame him." Daniel checked his watch and sighed. "Great. How long's that briefing gonna take anyway?" he asked rhetorically. "Listen, could you locate a deck of cards? May as well pass the time easier before I'm sent home for no reason."

"It's not for 'no reason,' Daniel," Alex warned him, ignoring the glare he received. "They shouldn't be long," Alex reassured, then added, "and if you must know, Jack said he was planning on asking for the weekend off. This afternoon, Jason wants to have a barbecue for everyone to celebrate this shit being over. And then after the barbecue..."

Daniel gave Alex a long, cryptic look. "And after the barbecue?"

That caught Alex off-guard and he stuttered slightly. "Just... you know. But I didn't mean... um..."

Daniel lowered his voice, making sure that only Alex could hear him. "Alex, I'm not insinuating anything between us."

Alex blew out a breath of relief, then looked promptly contrite. "Sorry, but..."

Daniel crouched down next to the chair, pretending to scrape something off the tile with his fingernail. "Listen, we shared something physically intimate we'll probably never repeat."

"I know," Alex answered. "It was nice though, don't get me wrong."

"I agree, and I won't take offense," Daniel said with a tiny smile as he pivoted on his heel, putting his back to the door and pretending another part of the floor needed looking at. He then stood up slowly, wiping his palms on his thighs before hooking a wheeled stool with his foot and sitting down. He leaned forward so he could keep his voice low.

"It was nice enough, and I'm not sorry, but I just wanna be clear that I'm not interested in a repeat. Relax."

Daniel couldn't help but grin at Alex's flushing embarrassment, but he also began to feel a bit guilty. He'd been about to discuss Alex's relationship with Jason, but decided that would be wrong. It was Jason's responsibility, not his, to tell Alex that it was time their affair came to an end. He started to rub at his temple and inadvertently made Alex worry.

"What's the matter? Headache?" Alex asked, standing, ready to bolt for some remedy.

Daniel stopped rubbing at his temple. "I'm fine, Alex."

Interrupting them, Lieutenant Stuart Eilerson walked in, carrying a large box of medical supplies. He glanced at them and went about placing the items in the box into one of the cabinets. "Don't mind me, just restocking."

Stuart was a handsome man, rather pale but not in a bad way. 5'10", well-built. Alex studied his back, his ass, the way the material of his uniform stretched against his body as he crouched down to place supplies in the lower part of the cabinet.

Daniel watched him watch Stuart and an idea came to him. He leaned over and whispered, "He's bisexual and free." Alex stared at him, flushing brightly. "Ask him out." Alex's mouth dropped open in surprise as Stuart finished and left the ward. "Go, ask him," Daniel pressed and pushed Alex in the direction Stuart had gone.

Alex resisted, pushing off Daniel's hands. "Daniel..."

Daniel sighed and shook his head. "Chicken shit."

"I am not!" Alex hissed, incensed.

Daniel ignored him and walked to the adjoining bathroom, stepped inside, and shut the door behind him. When he came back out and found Alex gone, he hoped Alex had gone after Stuart.

Daniel knew Alex tended toward commitments instead of the club fuck but he was still a babe in the woods where relationships with men were concerned. He needed to get some experience under his belt--no pun intended, and Daniel grinned to himself. He looked down the hall and saw Alex talking to Stuart.

Ducking back inside the empty ward, Daniel fought the urge to tell Alex never mind. From what Daniel had heard, the man was a dog, but he was also supposed to be a good fuck, and Alex needed that experience to be able to judge for himself. What Daniel needed to do next was talk to Jason and Jack about that thought they had about finding Alex someone long-term. Problem, again, was limited pickings. They needed new blood.   


  


The barbecue party was winding down by 6 pm and Hammond had already left to make last-minute preparations for his camping trip. Daniel was almost sorry the party was ending. He hadn't had so much fun since they'd been in Hawaii. He knew Jason to be a personable, charming, and annoyingly flirtatious man. He was also a natural leader and first party or not, this one was going as well as Daniel had expected.

It seemed to be a success, Daniel thought. Al and Connor's wives, Eileen and Sarah respectively, appeared to have enjoyed themselves, though they seemed nervous for a while till Jack had made them feel at home. They'd left with their husbands ten minutes ago, arms full of leftovers.

Sam and Teal'c were currently downstairs, waiting for Janet, who stood next to Daniel in front of the elevator, holding her own leftovers in a sack. Jason walked over and snuck his arm between them, handing Janet a recipe card. She snagged it quickly, eyeing Jack, and with pronounced exaggeration said, "Thank you, Jason."

"Yer welcome, Ma'am," Jason said in a mock-Texas accent. "C'mon back anytime."

She sniggered and Daniel took that moment--just in case Jack had any ideas about arguing over recipes--to kiss her on the cheek and gave her half a hug. "Tell Cassie she missed out."

"Oh no," Janet scoffed. "Cassie's going through that phase where she wouldn't be caught dead going anywhere with her _mother_ , never mind any of my friends." Daniel exchanged grins with Jack. "Yes, gentlemen, that means you, too."

Jack touched his chest. "Moi?" he said with mock-injury. "Surely she jests."

"Sadly, no," Janet said, pressing her lips together, pretending to be delivering bad news. "I'm afraid her worshipping days are over. For now, anyway."

Jason gasped in mock-shock as he touched the button to bring the elevator back up. "You mean I'm no longer the object of lust and desire?"

Janet's eyes locked on his. "Lust and desire?"

Jason's mouth twisted into a teasing smile. "She was sixteen, Janet, not eleven, and now she's eighteen."

"Don't remind me," she grumbled, rolling her eyes. "By the way..." and she peered at Jack and Daniel. "Which one of you paid for her tuition?"

"Wasn't me," Daniel said, holding up his hands defensively. "You told me no." Jack looked so smug that Daniel backhanded him across the arm. "You didn't."

"I didn't," Jack said, then added, "Hammond did, Janet."

Her mouth dropped open in surprise and Jack was even more pleased. Saying nothing, and quickly regrouping, Janet decided to devote her attention to Jason's tattoo. He'd taken off his shirt at the beginning of the barbecue so he could give everyone an eyeful, even though they'd already seen it. Except for Al and Connor's wives, who had looked at it with interest, then abruptly told their husbands not to get any ideas.

Janet, of course, had gone into her doctor role after showing up, and setting down her addition to the barbecue, proceeded to tend to him with the salve Jason had brought home. She now slipped back into doctor mode and pointed her finger at him. "Any signs of infection and you take those pills I gave you. Otherwise, I'll gladly give you several large antibiotic shots in the ass. You won't be able to sit down for three days."

Jason couldn't help the smile on his face as he grabbed her around the waist and hugged her against his right side. He kissed her cheek as Daniel had done then he placed a hand over his right pectoral muscle and vowed, "I promise. Besides, I'd much rather have another reason not to be able to sit for three days." She rolled her eyes again and stepped out of his hold. "You had a good time, I hope?"

"Yes," she smiled, showing relief. "And thanks. I needed it." She paused, hearing Sam through the elevator shaft telling her to get her ass in gear. "I'm coming already!" she yelled down the shaft. To the men, she said, "At least Teal'c's driving."

"You dropping him home?" Daniel asked, slipping an arm around Jason's waist. He'd been dying to do that all afternoon.

"No, Teal'c's staying with me and Sam over the weekend. Cassie's doing her 'stay-over' at her friend's, so she'll miss out on seeing him. For some reason, she doesn't mind being with Teal'c because he's supposedly cooler than the rest of us."

"Well of course he is," Jack grinned. "So, what're these stay-overs?"

"Slumber parties, teenage style."

"Ah."

"She's _too old_ for it to be called a slumber party. So I decided to take advantage, have Sam and Teal'c over and just chill out. We'll take him shopping tomorrow for more of his _cool_ stuff." Janet then pointed a finger at Daniel. "Behave yourself. Any residual side-effects..."

"Janet," Daniel whined.

"Daniel, it takes its toll, so humor me... or I'll sick these two gorillas on you."

"Yes, ma'am," Daniel answered while Jack and Jason made gorilla noises and pretended to groom each other. Daniel sniggered and winked at Janet. "Scarily accurate, ain't they?" She echoed his snicker as Jack stood up straight.

"Hey, I resemble that remark."

"Me, too," Jason objected. Mildly.

With an arm around Jason's shoulders, he said, "We'll keep an eye on him."

"Two, please," she said with mock-severity and stepped into the elevator. The men chuckled as she altered her expression to the _real_ one. "Thanks for the party. It was great."

"You're welcome."

The elevator took her away and Jason turned out of Jack's arm, looking around for Alex. He was already in the kitchen, having walked away from the displays and fooling around. Jason frowned, unable to help thinking that this was an omen. Alex was already distancing himself, but the question was whether he was doing it on purpose or not.

Sighing, Jason slapped his hands together. "C'mon, boys. Let's clean up before the second party starts."

"Second party?" Alex asked as he set the empty salad bowls in the sink.

"Well, one of a couple," Jack added, winking at Daniel.

"So you're ready to go home then?" Daniel asked him as he moved over and put his arms around him.

"Damn straight... so to speak."

"Funny," Daniel replied, stealing a few quick kisses. "Then let's clean up and get the hell out of here."

After they'd finished cleaning up, they now stood by the large windows, drinking beer, looking at the whisper of snow coming down outside. It was February, so snow was still expected. The camping trip Hammond and his granddaughters had gone on was definitely not in Colorado.

As Daniel retrieved another beer for Alex, though nothing for himself, he could read that Alex was completely at ease, currently concentrating on Jack and Jason's argument on the best way to grill over a campfire. He hoped that Jason and Alex would work out a few things, including the closing in on the end of their relationship.

"C'mon, Jack," he interrupted. "Let's leave Jason and Alex alone for awhile."

"Awhile?" Jack commented slowly, winking at Jason. "Is there someone after Jason?"

"I don't know," Daniel answered. "Is there, Alex?"

Alex shifted his feet and glanced at Jason. "Maybe."

"Maybe?" Jack said, leaning over to kiss Jason goodbye. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Count on it," Jason whispered back.

Taking Daniel's hand, Jack said, "On that mysterious note..."

"In all seriousness, have a good night," Daniel said to Alex, then turned away from him and pulled Jason into a deep kiss. "This was wonderful. I'll see you later."

Jason watched them go, standing there long after the elevator descended, taking them away. With a sigh, he turned around, going round the apartment, turning on a few lamps, shutting off others.

He noticed that Alex seemed to be fidgeting as he stood by the couch, holding the plastic bag he'd brought but had never opened. "What's on your mind, Alex?" Jason asked as he picked up the throw pillows that had fallen to the floor and tossed them on the bed.

**. . .**

Home. At last. Once the door was shut, Jack placed his hands at Daniel's waist and pushed him against the door, lips claiming his mouth, tongue searching for its partner. Daniel moaned with delighted surprise and threaded his fingers through Jack's hair. He knew that Jack had been horny since leaving for the Tok'ra, though Jack hadn't really needed any encouragement. That kiss had sent sparks down Daniel's spine and this one was having the same effect.

More delight and pleasure came when Jack slid a hand between them and caressed his cock through his jeans. "Yes," Daniel replied, kissing him harder, then pulled away and dragged Jack to the living room. "No, bedroom," Jack said.

"This is closer," Daniel corrected as he threw his jacket off, then his shirt. Jack grinned at him and said nothing, but copied his movements as Daniel toed off his sneakers while unbuttoning his jeans.

Before Daniel had a chance to direct any of the foreplay, Jack took his hand and led him to the couch. Pulling Daniel's jeans down over his hips, he shoved him down and knelt before him.

Daniel laughed as he sat down with a hard thump. "Careful now, you'll break something."

"I only care about breaking a sweat," Jack smiled mischievously, and lunged suddenly, pressing Daniel's head into the back cushions as he kissed him deeply. Letting him go, he bit his way down as he pulled Daniel's jeans over his knees and off each leg, then spread his knees apart. He paused, taking a look as he leaned over slowly, licking his lips.

"Eager?" Daniel asked, slightly worried that his cock wasn't stiffening despite what the inside of his body was feeling.

"Been waiting to do this for a week," Jack replied as he licked along the length of warm, musky foreskin.

"You did it on base," Daniel corrected.

"Not the same thing. I couldn't take my time," Jack whispered over the shaft, using only his mouth while his hands removed his own jeans.

**. . .**

Alex walked over to him, hesitation in his movements, and handed Jason the plastic sack. "I bought these a few weeks ago. Have been working up the nerve to bring them over."

Jason gave him a puzzled look. "Does this have anything to do with our little talk about the experiment in submission?"

"Yeah," Alex replied, looking uncomfortable. "I figured I'd do this now since..."

He didn't finish but Jason had an idea what he'd been about to say. _Since he might not get another chance._ On the other hand, Jason thought, Alex might just be extremely nervous about what he wanted to do... which only made Jason nervous. He let out a little snort of amusement, mostly to put Alex at ease but to also hide his own apprehension. "Alex, if you're that uncomfortable--"

"No, Jason, I'm fine. There's no time like the present, you always say."

"Yeah, I do say that sometimes," Jason replied, annoyed at being quoted. Alex hesitated, clearly at odds with what he wanted to do. "Is there something else?"

"No, it's just something I remembered, something... _Jalen_ said."

"That being?" Jason said, rolling his eyes.

"You might freak when you see this stuff."

"Oh for fuck's sake," Jason said, irritated, and upended the contents onto the bed. The bag contained a few metal objects like nipple clamps and cock rings, and five black leather objects: Padded handcuffs, a studded collar, an X-harness with a ring in the center, and a short-handled riding crop.

They didn't make Jason freak but they did cause two strong emotions. Some objects made his stomach knot in apprehension but others caused his balls to warm with desire. He really wished the contradiction in his feelings would take a fucking holiday. It was getting tiresome. "Jalen's full of shit, Alex. But. He meant well, and I know why he said what he said."

"Care to enlighten me?" Alex asked.

Jason didn't want this. He didn't want any demands or requests. He simply wanted to make love with Alex, fuck him for an hour, make him scream with pleasure. He wanted to tell Alex that things between them had to end soon. It was time Alex got on with his life and it was time Jason stopped being encouraged by men other than Daniel and Jack. Ironically, Baal and the brainwashed version of Camulus and Jalen had helped Jason see this, feel it in his bones.

But right now, the look in Alex's eyes was hard to say no to. Jason couldn't deny helping him; Alex really did think he needed it, that somewhere inside, his sexuality screamed for another reason--for his desires to make sense, his wants and needs to come to a fruition, a certainty. Alex had felt something during his last attack with Jalen, something that had excited him, not repelled. Jason had been hoping that Jalen would have been able to help but he knew by the sight of the plastic bag Alex had that the help had been for Jalen, not Alex.

Jason sighed and stared at the objects on the bed. They weren't unusual, just unusual for him--if this was Alex wanted, he was off the mark. Jason knew how to play submissive to Jack's rough treatment--the very idea got him hot--but that was one of a kind, different. Jason turned and gave Alex a long look. "You need to see someone else to do this for you because I can't help you with this. I know next to _nothing_ , Alex."

Alex sighed. "I'm not asking you to be a Dom to my Sub. I'm asking you to go through the motions and let me see if it's something I actually _want_ or if it's something else." He moved over and picked up the leather collar and harness. "I don't know if these are the right things, I admit that, and I know that you're not into this stuff. It's just..."

Jason watched him eye the collar and started to feel a bit of comprehension. "What do you feel when you look at that collar?"

Alex swallowed. "I'm not sure."

Jason reached over and gently cupped his face, forcing Alex to look at him. "What is it you _see_ when you look at this collar?"

Alex stared at the collar, not wanting to look at Jason just yet.

"Close your eyes, tell me what you see," Jason urged.

Alex opened his mouth to explain, but held back, a deep blush rising to his cheeks as the image came to him, as it had before. Finally, he managed, "I'm wearing the collar..."

At his words, Jason took the collar out of his hands and placed it around Alex's neck, securing the end through the metal loops. Alex inhaled sharply.

"What else?" Jason asked him, aroused by Alex's reaction but not by the collar.

"My hands... are out in front... restrained." He opened his eyes and the blush on his cheeks deepened.

Jason wordlessly placed the cuffs around his wrists and with the interlocking mechanism between them, snapped his wrists together. "And then what?" he asked quietly, almost seductively. Alex's blush spread with arousal not embarrassment and the idea of fucking Alex like this gave his dick a twitch. "I fuck you?" he asked.

Alex nodded. "Is... is this something you can see yourself doing?"

Jason took a deep breath and let it out. "Not with these," he said, and removed the handcuffs and the collar, tossing both into the bag along with the harnesses and setting them on the floor. Alex looked acutely embarrassed and angry because of it. Jason cupped his face with his hand, thumbing his lips. "Listen to me. I'm afraid of hurting you."

"Jason, you know I--"

"No," Jason argued vehemently. "I don't know what I'm doing, Alex. I could so easily break your neck."

Going by the look on his face, Alex didn't understand what he meant, so Jason reached around to the back of his neck and mimed holding onto the collar... and jerking it backward. Alex's eyes widened and Jason gave him a wry grin. "I see you get it now?"

Alex cleared his throat. "Right," he said, though he was filled with disappointment anyway. He picked up the bag, tossing it several feet away to lad on the couch with a hard thump.

"Alex... don't," Jason told him, hand at his back. Alex wouldn't turn around to look at him and Jason figured he was embarrassed, too, not just disappointed. "I'm sorry I can't be what you want," he said softly, meaning it in more than one way.

Alex's tone expressed how confused and torn he was. "I don't know what else to do. I can't go to a stranger."

Jason thought of Stef, wishing he could get a hold of him, wondering if it'd do any good anyway. Then suddenly, like an epiphany, clarity came to him and he knew exactly how to help Alex. He didn't know how or why he knew. He just did. It then occurred to him that the source of this clarity was the gift Lin had given him--a special kind of "knowing." He now understood how it was that Lin had known to make the rings long before Jason had even asked.

"Alex? I think I can help, actually."

Alex slowly turned to him, looking distrustful and uncertain. "But you said--"

"I know, but I suddenly just... knew. Don't ask how, I'm not sure I could explain. Just trust me."

Alex swallowed, suddenly shy and not ready for... whatever Jason would show him. Instead, he prevaricated. "Not even the handcuffs worked, Jason. How..."

Jason looked at him for a long minute, guessing Alex's mind, then walked over next to the bed and toed at the wooden box frame under the mattresses.

Jason's idea forgotten for the moment, Alex stared at the drawer he hadn't noticed before and frowned as he walked over and crouched down. "Has that been there all this time?" When Jason nodded, interest peaked and Alex squatted down to look, leaving room enough to see what was in the drawer.

The drawer was lined with a blanket, and on top of the blanket sat three types of restraints. Two were padded leather and the third was a set of police issue. Beside them were a few neckties and blindfold masks. Beside those were four dildos of varying size and shape. Alex looked up at Jason then. "Hell of an assortment."

"Like what you see?" Jason asked, his meaning double since Alex's gaze right then was on his dick.

"Yes," Alex answered with a tiny smile, blushing and swallowing hard when he thought of Jason using one of the dildos on him. "But why did the stuff I have bother you?"

"Doesn't turn me on, Alex," Jason said, crouching down behind him, one knee resting on the floor. Alex looked over his shoulder at him, refraining somehow from the obvious retort. Jason distracted him and reached over his right arm and pointed at one of the dildos. " _That_ is my thing, along with the cock rings, my navel ring..." He paused, inhaling Alex's scent. "You should get a nipple pierced." He chuckled as Alex did as Jason expected and blushed deeply. "What? Not _your_ thing?"

"I don't know... yet," Alex said, clearing his throat.

"Well that harness and collar aren't," Jason said confidently.

"How do you know?" Alex asked.

"It's domination and submission gear, Alex. It's not me and it's not you either, only you don't know that... yet."

"I think I know my mind, Jason," Alex objected, but with a mild voice.

"If you knew your mind, Alex, you wouldn't have bought the stuff for experimentation."

Alex cleared his throat again and lifted a cloth next to the dildos. There were two bottles of lubricant, one of them a warming gel, and a box of condoms.

"Condoms?" he asked, his balls twitching from the conversation and Jason's odor. He was half-tempted to turn around and kiss him then, but he was enjoying this teasing he knew both of them were creating. "Excuse the stupid question, but what're the condoms for?"

"Aside from the obvious?" Jason asked archly. Alex rolled his eyes, making Jason grin. "One night stands," he explained slowly, inhaling the scent at Alex's nape. "Before I committed myself to Daniel and Jack. Now... they're for long, _hard_ fucks." He smiled when Alex visibly shuddered, confirming what Jason now knew.

His dick swelled with urgency, and with a knowing that he had no logical reason for, Jason slid his arm around Alex's waist and pulled him against him. He nuzzled Alex's neck and up behind the ear. "You want that," he whispered. It wasn't a question nor was he asking permission.

Jason pressed his groin against Alex's ass and the movement pushed them both forward. Alex reached out and grasped the edge of the bed. His dick had been filling, not even half-hard, but as Alex's breath quickened, it began to stiffen rapidly.

Releasing Alex, Jason reached into the drawer for lube... and a condom. He then slammed the door shut, making Alex jump; if he'd been in the mood to smile, he would have, but all Jason could think about was the knowledge he suddenly had--what Alex wanted.

With his left arm now wrapped around Alex's waist, Jason pushed up with his legs, bringing Alex with him. He tossed the lube and condom on the bed, then used both hands to slide up under Alex's shirt, tweaking his nipples, caressing all the skin and muscle he could reach and massage.

It was time to enlighten Alex. "You want what Ophius gave you," he said quietly, lips browsing his neck before he bit--gently. "Minus the blood-taking, though I don't think you'll mind some hard bites." He wanted to bite him then, leave a purple bruise that would take days to heal, but he couldn't do that to Alex, not in a spot that was visible over the uniform.

Alex thought of Ophius, and the fact that he couldn't refuse him. And why was that? he asked himself. Because Ophius knew what Alex wanted, and he never asked. In taking control, he gave Alex what he wanted. Alex closed his eyes, remembering.

"I thought so," Jason growled and with experienced hands and urgent purpose, he had Alex's shirt off and his jeans down around his knees. Alex kicked off his shoes but before he had time to take off his jeans, Jason pushed him face down on the bed and yanked the jeans off for him. "You won't be needing these," he said, and with a quick, hard rip, Jason tore the briefs off Alex's body.

Small red lines appeared at Alex's hips from the elastic having dug deep, but Alex didn't care. He was hard, so fucking hard. His breathing was coming in ragged gasps already and without looking behind him to see if Jason was following, he pulled himself across the bed.

Jason quickly threw off his clothes, kicking off the boots and sending them flying who knew where. When Alex spread his legs, knees bent, ass raised, Jason ripped open the condom and slid it over his straining cock. The lube was next but instead, Jason crawled over and reached underneath to take Alex's cock in hand, pulling down and back, his fist stroking quickly just when the tip of his tongue touched the spicy taste of Alex's anus.

The wrinkled hole flinched at the same time Alex inhaled sharply. Alex clutched the bed covers in tight fists and held on, body hard with tension as Jason fucked him with his tongue, jerking him off.

"You'll make me come, don't," Alex begged, then bit into the bed cover just as Jason pulled his tongue out and licked a stripe up the length of his spine. When he got to his neck, he took a wide bite, clamping down just as he sloppily spread lube over his hole.

Alex was loving it, loving every second, loving that he had no idea what was going to happen next. He tried to guess, but a second after the lube touched his asshole, Jason pressed the head of his cock against his ass and slid his condom-sheathed cock completely inside him with one powerful stroke.

Alex squirted pre-come at that moment, more than he'd ever had; he'd almost come from Jason doing that and was tempted to say something about it but Jason's hands were gripping his shoulders, shoving his upper body down hard, holding him there while his hips immediately began a hard, sure rhythm.

"Oh fuck," Alex groaned, drooling into the bed, eyes closed. Any further conversation was out of the question.

Heaven. He was in heaven. He didn't want it to end. And true to his word, the reason for the condom proved true. Jason gave him that long, hard fuck--no explanations, no sweet talk, no asking permission. For now, this was exactly what Alex wanted.

He came hard, matching the fuck with equal, perfect intensity. The only thing that spoiled it for him was Jason hadn't come. He fucked him for another minute, pulling more pleasure from Alex's body, then pulled out and flopped onto his back beside him.

"I know you liked it," Alex panted.

"And?" Jason asked, eyes closed, fingers drawing circles of sweat over his belly.

"And. You didn't come, Jason."

"Not yet," Jason told him, pulling off the condom. He tossed it off the bed, then reached over, touching Alex's sweating face, sticking a finger in his mouth. As Alex sucked his finger as would his cock, Jason groaned. "That's what I want," he whispered.

Turning on his side, Alex moved down and took his cock in his mouth. Jason watched him suck his cock, staring at Alex's face, still red and sweaty from the sex. His balls drew up, orgasm threatening, when he took Alex's head in both hands and fucked his mouth, hard and dirty. A few deep passes into his throat, making his muscles constrict around him, and Jason came loudly, gasping for breath as he pumped his load down Alex's throat.

He thought he might have overdone it a bit but Alex was over him a minute later, kissing him deeply, rubbing his body against Jason's, smearing sweat everywhere.

This was sex, Jason thought. Wonderful, glorious, and non-committal. He rolled them over, kissing Alex's cooling throat. "Okay?" he asked.

Alex didn't answer. Jason sat up and stared down at his closed eyes. "Open your eyes. Are you okay?"

Slowly, Alex opened his eyes. They were filled with warmth and satisfaction and Jason smiled. "You know, Jack does this for me," he revealed--though not bothering to add that it always had the touch of commitment.

"Does he?" Alex asked, looking thoughtful, contemplative. "And just how the hell do I find someone who'll give me what I want?"

"How else do you find anything, Alex? Search," and Jason taunted with a gentle shove. "Don't worry. We'll help."

"We?" Alex asked, eyes wide.

"Me, Jack, and Daniel. If you think you're alone, you're very sadly mistaken."

Alex thought about that for a while, then remembered the way Jack was with him, and the touch of Daniel's hand. "You're very lucky, Jason."

"I know that," Jason sighed.

Alex looked him over, then winced and started to scoot off the bed, taking Jason's hand while he was at it. "C'mon."

"Where?"

"Shower. We'd better get that sweat out of your tattoo or it'll get it infected. I don't think you want ten shots in your ass, do you?"

"No."

Alex tenderly administered to Jason, cleaning his skin with slow, loving caresses. "Are you okay, Jason?"

"About?" Jason asked as he ran soapy hands over Alex's chest.

"Everything. Lin... Jalen... me."

Jason made a show of thinking about it. "I'm okay."

"I can't tell when you're humoring me," Alex said, obviously bothered.

"Then it's time for more education," Jason said as he put his arms around him and kissed Alex till he believed him.

In the middle of the night, Jason got up to piss and upon his return, he stopped at the side of the bed and stared down at Alex, deeply asleep. Jason felt another dawning realization come over him and he sat down slowly, the pit in his stomach making a large hole.

There would be no more waiting for Alex to find someone else. The time had come and it was time to let Alex go. They'd be together one more night and when it happened, Jason had to make sure it was special. He didn't like goodbyes; it was confusing enough because Alex wasn't actually _going_ anywhere.

Stretching out, Jason stroked his cock while his eyes looked over every tanned inch of Alex's body. He decided he couldn't wait for Alex to wake up and pushed the sleeping Alex onto his back. Alex stirred sleepily as Jason lay over him, thrusting gently against him as his tongue sought to wake Alex's up. When Alex groaned in partial reprimand, Jason grinned through the kiss as he felt the man's dick stiffen appreciatively against his leg.

**. . .**

Daniel closed his eyes and gripped the back of the couch as he lay there, frustrated for the first time in a long time. He _never_ thought this would happen, but then again, he had to admit that failing to get a sustained erection shouldn't be that surprising given what they'd been through. Still, enough was enough. It'd been a month, for fuck's sake.

"I don't get it," he said with disgust.

Jack lay between his legs, not moving away though he did drop his cheek down on Daniel's hip. He looked up at his lover's frowning face while feeling the warmth of his body, and limp cock, against him. He took hold of the shaft and stroked slowly, lazily, then turned his face to nose against his cleanly shaven balls. The smell always excited him, especially Daniel's and Jason's.

Jack figured he should feel guilty but he couldn't. Of all the times when his age should affect him, this wasn't one of them. The after-effects of Baal's rapes weren't inhibiting his erections in any way. In fact, Jack's urges seemed to be directly opposite to Daniel's and Jason's. He hoped Jason had solved that problem, and he'd find out in the morning.

He knew it should worry him, what his lovers were going through--and it did, a little--but Jack was confident that it wouldn't last. He knew that it was only a matter of tactics and ingenuity to get Daniel, at least, back on track. And he would. He had no doubts whatsoever.

"It'll be fine," he answered, tonguing the soft skin.

Daniel snorted and reached down to thread his fingers through Jack's hair. "Always the confident one," he said, a note of mock-disapproval in there somewhere. "Just know that it isn't you."

"Oh I know it's not me," Jack replied, thinking up new ways to get over this hurdle and restore Daniel's confidence.

Daniel ground his jaw and slammed his fist into the cushion, forcing himself to sit up. "I didn't even get hard when I was kissing Alex, but I got hard when I was alone with him on-base. How fucked up is that?"

His tone was alarming. "Shhhhh," Jack told him calmly as he stood up and held out his hand. "C'mere." With a defeated sigh, Daniel stood up. He started to reach to pull up his pants when Jack stopped him. "Step out of them," he asked, helping Daniel as he lifted one foot, then the other. Jack set his jeans on the couch, then stood, pulling Daniel's shirt up along the way. "Let's do this all the way, shall we?"

Daniel had no idea what Jack was trying to do. He couldn't get it up, it was hopeless. All Daniel wanted to do right then was hide in the shower till he pruned. But he did as Jack wanted, for whatever reason. One of them may as well be happy.

"C'mon," Jack said, leading Daniel to the bedroom.

"Jack, change of location won't--"

"Don't be negative," Jack shot back over his shoulder.

"Jack," Daniel said, pulling against Jack's hand, stopping them in the middle of the hall.

Jack put his arms around him, feeling the smooth warmth of Daniel's skin. "I'm going to get your body to cooperate on matters sensual and erotic, no matter how long it takes. So you," and he lifted Daniel's chin slightly and kissed him, "stop worrying."

Daniel rolled his eyes and turned around, taking Jack's hand and leading him to the bedroom. He felt extremely useless. "I don't know where you get your confidence from."

Inside the bedroom, Jack pulled his hand away and began to undress, watching as Daniel lay down on the bed, absently stroking his cock, his balls. Jack grinned. "Keep doing that."

"What?" Daniel asked unnecessarily as Jack climbed on the bed. He grinned half-heartedly and spread his legs as Jack maneuvered between them. "Jack..." he went on to protest.

"Shhhhh," Jack said as he moved up swiftly to capture Daniel's mouth, pressing him back into the pillow.

The move accomplished something, Daniel thought, because there were tingles of weakness, caused by the desire sweeping through him. He kissed Jack back eagerly, one arm around his neck, hand in his hair, while the other hand smoothed down Jack's back. Daniel moaned at the familiar scent, the familiar touch moving unerringly over his skin.

Jack rubbed his half-hard cock over Daniel's balls and breathed a groan over his lips, whispering, "I have plenty of time and I'll get you this. Trust me."

"Really?" Daniel asked irritably, feeling very insecure, unworthy.

"Trust me," Jack said confidently.

"I trust you, but that has nothing to do with this."

Jack stared down at him. "Trust me," he whispered, nuzzling Daniel's cheek, then his ear. As he bit the lobe gently, one hand slid down Daniel's side and under the thigh, lifting his leg. "Time to get you wet."

Despite his growing grumpiness, Daniel grinned. "With what, may I ask?" Jack gave him the type of grin that caused heat to stir deep in Daniel's belly. And his balls and cock, for that matter. He knew he was making things difficult on himself, overthinking his cock's inaction. Since Jack was able to engender his desire, that left only himself to blame for the problem he was having.

Daniel stared back into those brown eyes so filled with emotion and opened his mouth to say something else... but nothing came. Jack's smile faded, but Daniel knew it wasn't from a lack of humor. More an override by his testosterone levels, and proving it, Jack suddenly pounced, Jack kissing him again, harder and more passionately.

"Maybe a story," Jack whispered gruffly, moving down Daniel's body, biting at his collarbone, his nipples, making Daniel flinch and twitch with pleasure and anticipation--a reaction that only prompted Jack to increase his efforts to get Daniel properly distracted and motivated. Not that Daniel lacked the motivation, he mused, but Daniel's ability to self-analyze himself became a hindrance when he did it in the middle of something that should be enjoyable.

"Care to elaborate?" Daniel asked, gripping the pillow under his head when Jack's teeth found a particularly sensitive spot under his left ribcage.

"Not yet," Jack told him, mouth busy while his eyes were watching Daniel's face. "Just preparing my materials, so to speak." That made Daniel laugh--and therefore relax that much further.

Daniel knew it, too, and didn't mind. He could sense Jack's worry, but on top of that--what ruled over it, more accurately--was Jack's determination. When the man set his mind to something, not much stopped him. What Jack was doing right now felt damned good. And that was the thing Daniel was over-analyzing at the moment. He could _feel_ the pleasure easily.

The problem wasn't his dick's inability to rise to the occasion. It was that Daniel's mind would veer off topic and he'd instantly associate something Jack was doing with something Baal had made him think he wanted, when in fact he didn't. Like fucking that dismayingly sexy Goa'uld.

At first, there'd been no problem. A few weeks after they'd gotten home, the adrenaline rush with Adriann and Eros and everything else had kept the waking worries at bay. Then nightmares had started, bringing memories to the surface so they'd crop up at the most inconvenient of times. Daniel was tempted to go back to Adriann's new home and take him up on his offer to rid him of the memories. If Daniel couldn't get a grip on this emotional block, it's what he planned on doing. Soon.

He lay there, enjoying Jack's particular attentions, when his traitorous memory started to place a negative picture in his head. He growled, then felt a nip against his inner thigh. Instantly redirected, he tightened his fingers in Jack's hair, torn between reprimand and relief. Then Jack surprised the hell out of him when he said, "Use your feelings, Daniel. Let them do the work."

Daniel didn't understand at first, then he groaned again, reprimanding _himself_. Why hadn't he thought of that? He could feed off Jack's emotions, use them to help him. He _opened_ his mind to accept the emotions coming from Jack and it was like opening flood gates. Daniel inhaled deeply, back arching, dick twitching in response.

Jack had moved back up his body--god, that man was quick--and Daniel's actions made him lift his mouth from his right nipple. Daniel's hand instantly slid around to the back of Jack's head, pressing him down, wanting that nipple sucked again. Jack had other ideas and easily escaped the encouraging hand as he moved up and took his mouth again, tongue _pumping_ into his mouth.

The simulation of sex did its job; Daniel felt the rush of blood moving south. He moaned with pleasure, relief, passion, spreading his legs wider, accommodating his reach as he grabbed his lover's ass with both hands. He opened his mind further, trying to give Jack what he was feeling.

Jack broke off the kiss, gasping with astonishment, lust in its wake. He could feel intense desire from Daniel, more than the small telepathic bond they shared. "I feel you," he whispered, staring into those darkening blue eyes as he slid a hand between them and wrapped his fingers round Daniel's cock.

Daniel gasped and bit his bottom lip, eyes closing slowly; he thrust experimentally into Jack's hand, then again with more intent. "Feel that?" he said, not wanting to stop and explain.

"Yes," Jack said and kissed him again. Leaving wet trails and red bite marks, he returned to the nipple he'd abandoned, now rigid and tempting. "Remember the time loop?" he asked suddenly, pulling Daniel's nipple taut before letting it go.

"You can't be serious!" Daniel groaned. He was grateful that he could feed off Jack's feelings because his own regarding that fucked up mission weren't pleasant. "Isn't there something else?"

"We're at the blackboard," Jack went on, ignoring Daniel's protest. "Teal'c left and we're alone. You're writing on the board, consumed with the translation, only instead of continuing like I'm supposed to, I do what I'd been wishing I could do."

"What?" Daniel asked, pulling Jack's face up from his attention on his navel. "For real?"

"For real," Jack admitted. "I wished we'd had more time, because I wanted to rip those trousers off you and..."

"What?" Daniel asked heatedly as images flooded his mind.

"Fuck you," Jack whispered, reaching frantically for the lube on the table. He squirted a mess of it over his cock, over Daniel's ass. "I shove you against that blackboard," he whispered harshly, pushing up to kneel back, surrounding Daniel's cockhead with his fist, pumping and squeezing. "It falls back against the wall, but I don't care. I need to be inside you, so I lift one of your legs, hold it to my chest and..."

Jack's followed his words with action and lifted Daniel's right leg to his chest, exposing his ass in the process. His right hand continued to fist Daniel's cock, now slick with lube, and Daniel groaned and thrust into his fist, cock hard and straining, pre-come lubing the head messily, and the odor filled Jack's nose.

When he realized Jack had stopped talking, he opened his eyes just in time to see the look on Jack's face as he growled and entered him. One push, unerring and deep, and Daniel let out a moan with an expelled breath.

"God."

"Yes," Jack answered, voice gruff but quiet, eyes half-lidded as he concentrated on the rhythm he wanted. He circled his hips, searching for that marvelous little gland. "Where is it," he said, over and over, till Daniel arched. "Found ya," Jack smiled.

"Yes you did," Daniel strained, lifting his head to look down at Jack's body: his pubic hair glistening with sweat; his thick, red cock swelling with urgency; to watch his hand--those strong, talented fingers as they stroked him harder and more quickly. Daniel grabbed the short headboard over his head, his breathing coming in great gasps and pants. "Jack."

"That's the blackboard you're holding," Jack told him, eyes bright and feverish. "And I won't fuck you till you come in my hand. We have to be quick, you know that. We're tempting fate. I want to see you come first, make you come..."

"No, Jack," Daniel urged. "A few thrusts, fuck me..."

"This is too good to stop," Jack panted, increasing the pumping of his fist, the slick sounds erotically charging.

"Please," Daniel begged as he lifted his hips.

Jack couldn't resist and he thrust, cockhead rubbing the gland, exciting the muscles of Daniel's asshole. "Yes," he choked, pumping faster... faster... watching with rapt fascination how Daniel arched back, white-knuckling the _chalk_ board. He hadn't realized he'd already begun thrusting, not until Daniel tightened his muscles around him.

"God yes," he growled again, then slammed into Daniel once, hard, rocking his body forward, and with a new rhythm, went back and forth between Daniel's ass and his cock, using Daniel's body as the conduit. Thrust in, fist down, pull back, fist up. Again, and again.

Unable to hold off, Daniel grabbed Jack's hand with his left and squeezed, fucking his palm, ass clenching his cock. "Now, please!"

"We're gonna get caught!" Jack yelled.

"Fucksogood..." Daniel shouted, slurring his words as he came hard. Jack didn't wait; he plowed into him as hard and quick as he could and when he felt his cock swell and spurt, he pulled out and shot his come all over Daniel's balls and cock.

"Jesus," Daniel panted, eyes closed, breath coming in great gulps.

Jack laid down beside him, rubbing their come together with his fingers, leaving trails and designs over Daniel's skin. He leaned over him and kissed him, gentler now and less hurried.

Daniel sighed and wrapped his arms around him. "I love you," he whispered.

Jack grinned and bit Daniel's neck. "I love you back. So, I take it you used the empathy?"

Daniel bit his lip and rolled on top of Jack's body, wiggling until he had himself settled properly--ignoring Jack's grunting. "What do you think?"

Smugly, Jack said, "I think you did good. Only..."

"What?"

"Wasn't that cheating?"

"What?" Daniel exclaimed, pushing up and staring down at Jack in surprise. He then picked up that Jack was teasing, so perhaps payback was in order. He narrowed his eyes in return and said, "Well, I suppose it wouldn't have been necessary if _someone_ had been doing his _job_ prop--"

The rest of what he had to say was cut off by Jack's hand. And mouth. And nasty, tickling fingers.

**~**

Jason paused at Daniel's front door and needlessly combed his fingers through his hair. He knew there was no reason to be nervous or apprehensive, but every time he spent the night with Alex, then returned to Daniel and Jack, he felt like he'd missed something, that they'd shared something without him. More and more, Jason's desire for Alex lessened and his need to have Alex find someone else increased. It was also becoming apparent that as long as Jason was _seeing_ Alex, Alex wouldn't search too hard.

Jason had woken that morning with the usual urges but they'd been for Daniel and Jack and hadn't included Alex. He regretted refusing Alex's offer of love, of sex, and he felt bad--but not enough to say yes. He'd refused as lovingly and politely as possible, telling him that he wanted to be with Daniel and Jack. With his _husbands_. They'd talked for a while, and while Alex had understood, Jason saw the loss in Alex's eyes and hated himself for it.

Standing there, at Daniel's door, Jason knew this was where he belonged. And always would. Stepping inside, Jason hung up his coat and tossed his keys on the bureau, his self-denigration over Alex at war with the anticipation he was now feeling.

"That better be you, Jason," Daniel called out from the kitchen.

At the sound of that voice, Jason's dick did a little dance and he cupped himself and squeezed. "Who else," he called back.

The smell of bacon, butter and maple syrup hit his nose and his stomach growled appreciatively, beginning a war with his cock for domination of his mind. Dressed in a plain white t-shirt and his old, loose-fitting jeans, Jason entered the dining room, boot heels clicking on the tile.

"Smells good," he said absently, his attention riveted on Daniel, on the white muscle shirt and Air Force issue gym shorts. Food was forgotten as his dick won the war. He crossed to Daniel, took the spatula out of his hand and set it on the counter, turned the heat off the pan, then backed him up until Daniel hit the wall next to the fridge.

Smirking, but with eyes reflecting the same sudden desire, Daniel asked, "Hungry?"

"Fuck yes," Jason murmured before kissing the hell out of him. He didn't care about food, though. When he let Daniel come up for air, he whispered, "Good morning, have you had sex yet?"

Daniel breathed heavily, dick now half-hard. "I knew there was a reason we didn't do anything this morning."

Loving him more than he could say, Jason smiled and kissed him again, hands sliding down Daniel's arms to meet his hands, fingers linking together.

"Where's Jack?"

"Showering," Daniel replied slowly, thinking about how long the eggs could sit half-cooked in the pan before ruining, then deciding that he didn't care. He looked around Jason, apprehensively searching for Alex.

"He's not here. I dropped him off at Lysa's," Jason told him, guessing why Daniel was looking around. He put his arms around him, and with their hands still linked, Daniel's were now trapped behind him.

"Lysa's?" Daniel asked, several questions needing to be asked. "Why Lysa's?"

"First and foremost, I wanted to be with you and Jack," Jason said. "Second, Lysa's having one of her brunches, and since she and that asshole husband of hers are now getting a divorce, she can freely have her gay friends over."

Daniel smiled. "And you figured to take advantage of the opportunity?"

Jason suddenly sobered, his smile fading. "We had a talk, Daniel. This morning. About us, about his needing to find someone else. I love him, Daniel, but I love him more as a friend. Alex isn't..."

He grimaced, disgusted with himself, and to Daniel's surprise, let him go and turned away. He sat with a thump into one of the dining chairs. Concerned, Daniel went over and knelt before him. "What's the matter? You knew this was coming, so did he."

"I... it's so hard, seeing the sadness in his eyes." He looked away, eyes on the table top but not seeing it. "I shouldn't have given in, shouldn't have invited him to Hawaii. Forgive me."

"For what?" Daniel asked irritably. "We've been through this, Jason, so don't go back to feeling sorry for yourself. None of us have regretted what happened, or having Alex in our lives." He paused, grabbing Jason's dimpled chin between thumb and forefinger, forcing him to look at him. "I love you. I want you happy. You wanted Alex, needed him, so Jack and I thought you needed to see where that led, if anywhere. I couldn't keep you from doing what you wanted, even if that meant risking losing you."

"You'll never lose me, Daniel. _Never_." He leaned over and kissed Daniel deeply. "I love you. I don't use that word lightly. For me, it implies forever."

Daniel grinned at him. "It goes both ways, you silly shit. Don't apologize, as if you'd put us at risk. Got me?"

Jason nodded. "I'm... going to see him one more time, Daniel. Make it special, because he is." He swallowed and looked at him warily. "What I was wondering if maybe it should be all of us."

" _All_ of us?" Daniel asked, amused.

Jason shrugged with a tilt of his head Daniel found endearing. "He was with Jack, too, and I thought it should be with him, too. Then I figured that since you'd also..." He grinned. "Been intimate with him..."

Daniel took a deep breath. "Whenever you want, Jace. Jack won't mind, either."

Jason swallowed convulsively, feeling the desire for the foursome but placing it against the coming loss. He was ready, but he wasn't. Mostly because he didn't want to lose Alex completely. "It'll be fine," he said with a confidence he didn't feel.

"I hope so," Daniel replied. He looked down at Jason's shirt, his chest, catching the black outline from the tattoo. "How's the tat?"

Jason rolled his left shoulder. "Itches."

"You've been keeping it moist, right? Using the ointment?"

Jason winced. "I forgot this morning. Wanted to get here."

Daniel rolled his eyes and with a sigh of exasperation, took Jason's hand. "C'mon, Mister."

"Daniel," Jason half-protested as Daniel led him to the bedroom, where he kept a jar of the ointment in the small drawer of his dresser.

"Take your shirt off, delinquent boy," Daniel mock-scolded.

Jason complied, and silently amused, watched as Daniel rubbed the salve into the healing skin. But after a few seconds, Jason's smile disappeared. He remembered the difficult subject he wanted to talk about. Hamilton. He'd left the subject alone, giving Daniel a couple of days to deal with it, but Jason still couldn't help but be dismayed over his rather negative feelings about the dead man. And himself.

"What's the matter?" Daniel asked, breaking Jason out of his thoughts.

Jason suddenly realized that Daniel had been picking up on his emotion. He suddenly chickened out on the direct approach. "My raven's skin."

"What?" Daniel asked, confused.

"Before he died, Grandfather said something cryptic. He said that the Raven would wear me if I let it."

Daniel took a moment to consider the words. "A warning, obviously, but was he talking about the gifts he supposedly gave you? I can't call those whacky senses you've been having a gift. They're far from being controlled, even if you did find out I was in trouble _through_ them."

"Last night, I figured out what that gift was."

"Really?" Daniel asked wide-eyed, stopping his attention on the tattoo. "So what is it?"

"A type of ESP. I know the answers to things before they happen."

Daniel frowned in confusion. "So what the hell did those heightened senses have to do with that?"

"I've been thinking about that and I _think_ that they were... doors opening."

"Doors opening?" Daniel asked, perplexed, but two seconds later, it made perfect sense. "Oh wait, I get it. Like getting your mind used to the openness around you?"

"Exactly, and it's selective, like that voice you get sometimes. Last night, without me having to go through an experimentation with Alex, I _knew_ what he needed. I was _certain_ of it. I wasn't guessing. I knew. And it reminded me of the time Lin made those rings. He'd made them before I asked. Did I tell you that?"

"Not exactly," Daniel answered, thinking back. "Just that he'd made them. You pulled them out and handed us ours. You never said Lin had already made them."

"It wasn't a secret, Daniel. It's just that I was so used to him doing that, knowing things about me before I told him. I thought it was the shaman's gift he possessed."

"It is, Jason," Daniel told him meaningfully.

Jason shook his head. "No, it's more than that." Daniel nodded, but it seemed to be absent-minded as he stared at him, _examining_ his face. "What?" Jason asked warily.

"What else were you going to talk to me about?" Daniel asked, suddenly very sure there was something else on Jason's mind. Was it his anger? Jason didn't like it when he was angry about something, anything. Felt it was beneath him to feel something his enemies did. "There is, I can tell. What?"

Surprised, Jason cleared his throat. "Maybe it would be best if we wait for Jack."

"Jason, you're dissembling," Daniel told him as he resumed the application of the salve. "Spit it out."

Jason sighed, wishing Daniel weren't so fucking observant. "How're you doing about... Hamilton?"

Daniel frowned, confused. He could feel worry and fear coming off Jason in droves. But about Hamilton? No, that didn't make sense. "Clarify."

"Having to kill him."

Daniel rolled his eyes, muttering, "For cryin' out loud." Jason was sometimes a trial, he thought. "I am not sorry I killed him, Jason, if that's what you mean. Am I sorry I had to kill someone? Yes. Am I sorry it was him? No. Now, end of discussion."

Had Jason not been so concerned, he would have grinned at Daniel's use of Jack's catch phrase. "No, it's more than that. I know you. You always try to talk your way out of sticky situations."

"Did you just hear anything I said? Or would you like to believe whatever you want and have me agree?"

Jason scowled at him. "That's unfair."

"Well, you just did that, Jason! What the fuck do you expect me to think when you do that?"

Jason sighed heavily and thumbed the spot between his eyes. "I'm sorry, Daniel."

"When I think there's a chance to, Jason," Daniel told him, gently, taking his chin between two fingers, "I'll talk. But this wasn't one of those times. What's really bothering you?"

"You could have wounded him, Daniel, and you didn't," Jason said softly.

Daniel could see the pain in Jason's eyes, the worry, and he finally figured out--hopefully figured out--what was wrong. He twisted his mouth to the side as he focused on dabbing the ointment on the tattoo. "You're so sure about that, are you?" Jason started to interrupt but Daniel shook his head, telling him he wasn't finished.

"If I'd had the camera turned on in my office, you'd see why I had to kill, not maim. Why are you worried about this? You're acting severely over-protective and it isn't your job to protect me from the big bad men. Besides, you know I hate it, and you also know that I'll do whatever it takes to stay alive. I may risk myself for others, but when it comes to self-preservation, don't worry about me."

Jason peered at him. "I know you enough to know that you labor over your decisions, that when someone dies and you're involved, you blame yourself."

"Yes, I prefer to save lives and I take on entirely too damn much on my own head. And I also know it exasperates you and Jack to no end." He smiled, as if he were revealing a secret. "It's necessary to save lives whenever possible. And that also includes killing someone or several people to ensure that other lives are saved. I've done it before, I'll do it again. Stop worrying about it, Jason, or you'll end up pissing me off."

Jason nodded, understanding, but Daniel didn't get what he meant--and mostly because Jason hadn't explained himself yet. "Daniel, it doesn't bother me that you killed him. What bothers me is _why_ it happened. It's only a matter of time before more like Hamilton show up, threatening our lives. I'm afraid that soon you'll end up..."

"End up... what? Retaliating instead of defending? I've been dealing with that bigoted shit for a long time now, Jason. I'm not about to go bounty hunter on you."

"That's not what I mean! You can't end up--"

"Stop it! I won't end up--"

"Like _me_!"

Daniel blinked at him. That wasn't what he'd expected Jason to say. "What?"

"Like me," Jason told him.

Daniel closed the jar and put it back in the drawer, then gave Jason another piercing look, only this one had nothing to do with chastisement. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

**.**

At the sound of Jason's voice, Jack hurried his shaving in anticipation of showing Jason how much he missed him. The water muffled what he and Daniel were talking about but when their voices rose and the sound indicated stress, Jack hurried faster. They were obviously arguing and Jack started to get annoyed.

He had an idea what they were arguing about and he sighed heavily, wanting to smack Jason for his timing. Couldn't he have waited till _after_ they'd fucked each other's brains out? Maybe Jason was subconsciously arranging a kiss-and-make-up scenario.

Shutting off the water and drying his face, Jack didn't pick up Alex's voice so hopefully that meant the Jason hadn't brought him with him. While Jack liked him, he didn't want him around right now.

He opened the door and sauntered into the room, clad only in the navy bath towel. He spotted his two lovers, both with arms folded defensively. That wasn't good. When they were both defensive, things never got settled right away.

Jason looked over at him and Jack saw the worry and stress there, saw the same stress in Daniel's eyes. He made a growling noise and moved to Daniel first, reaching out to push his folded arms apart as he leaned in slightly and kissed lips thinned with tension. When Daniel's lips didn't respond, he did it again, and again, until they returned to their normal pliable state.

"Better." Turning to Jason, Jack narrowed his eyes. "Couldn't you keep it zipped for just a few hours?"

"Guess not. Mornin' Jack," Jason murmured, his voice unintentionally sexy, reaching down into Jack's balls.

"Come here, errant husband," Jack growled at him, the word 'husband' only making his dick twitch more. He pushed Jason's arms open the same way he did with Daniel, then took him in his arms, tattoo be damned, and claimed his mouth for a proper hello. To his relief, Jason responded immediately.

As he was kissed until he needed to come up for air, Jason cursed himself. Why _hadn't he_ kept his mouth shut? They could be having sex right now. But Jason knew that Jack would have this settled before anything else. The problem was that Jason no longer knew exactly what was bothering him. Was it Daniel's killing? Or was it his own wish that he'd done it instead?

Jack reluctantly let him go, murmuring, "Do you have a fight fetish or something? You want everyone riled up so we can all then have make-up sex?" When Jason stared at him, speechless, he asked, "Now, what the hell are you two arguing about?

"Jason thinks I'll turn into a killing machine," Daniel said caustically.

"That's not what I said, nor what I meant," Jason growled. "I just..." He sighed in disgust and sat down on the bed.

"Sit down," Jack told Daniel, but when Daniel was reluctant to move, he adroitly guided him to sit. Jack turned to the dresser and pulled out a set of shorts, eyeing his lovers as he slid them on. Draping the towel on a drawer knob, he turned to them and ran a hand through his hair, making the cowlick on the back of his crown stick up even more. "Well?" he asked Jason. "Explain yourself better so we can all make nice and have a proper morning together." It was he who then crossed his arms and stood staring at them both, waiting.

Feeling terrible for making Daniel angry, Jason took the hand nearest and enclosed it between both of his. He stared down at the strong, callused fingers and had this nearly irresistible urge to suck on them.

"There're two things. First." Jason swallowed convulsively. "It's my own guilt, Daniel, and I apologize for making you think I don't respect your ability to take care of yourself however you see fit. I know we have dangerous lives and that we do what we have to do in order to save our own skins or others.

"It's just that I worry when you end up having to kill like that. We all know it was self-defense but I'm talking about the reason for it. You could have just maimed him, but you didn't, and I'm wondering how you'll try to punish yourself for that later."

Daniel closed his eyes, sighing. "I'll be fine. And the reason I will be is because I couldn't have done it differently. You weren't in the room, you didn't see his eyes. I didn't even have the camera operating so you can't check it out later. He was going to kill me. Our positions made it impossible for me to get out of there without injury, so I had to make sure that I had the kill shot, not him. It's that simple."

Both Jack and Jason nodded in agreement, looking relieved, which Daniel found really annoying. He left that alone, however, because he didn't feel like getting into a separate argument. He threaded his fingers between one of Jason's hands and squeezed. "You said the reason for it. You mean hating someone, right?" Jason nodded. "I _already_ hate the Goa'uld, Jason. I hate others, too, those who do nothing but destroy people's lives. I'm just better at hiding it."

"Internalize is more like," Jack commented, earning a dirty look. "Well you do, Daniel."

"I wanted to be the one to take him down," Jason finally admitted, and both Jack and Daniel looked at him, not sure of what he was saying. "I didn't want you to kill him," he said to Daniel. "I... wanted to do it. I wanted the chance to look him in the eye, give him a few parting shots before I put a bullet in his brain."

"Jason?" Daniel drawled, "That's not exactly a secret."

Jason was thoroughly confused.

"I felt it, Jason. You can't hide that hatred from me."

"But... then why the fuck aren't you shocked or disgusted, Daniel? What I just said goes against everything you believe..."

Daniel gripped Jason's hand tight enough to make Jason wince. His voice was hard and low. "Listen to me, right fucking now, Jason. You _know_ me, but somehow, you're trying to tell me you _don't_. That _I_ don't know _you_. That about the size of it?"

Jason blinked several times, realizing that was exactly what he was doing by telling Daniel he wouldn't understand, by acting surprised by Daniel's actions--which he was. The more Jason thought about it, the more he realized how his fear and anger had blinded him to some things. Like his knowledge and love of Daniel--and vice-versa.

He closed his eyes in acceptance, then slowly opened them. "I'm so sorry, Daniel, I... I'm... fucked up."

Jack snorted and Daniel gave him a warning glance. "You both have seen what I can do when I have to," he said, his gaze switching back and forth between Jack and Jason. "What I did, I had to do. It's no different than your methods."

"Wait a minute, Daniel--" Jack began.

"I'm not finished, Jack. Wait till I'm finished, then you can contradict me." Jack looked at him impatiently. "It isn't any different," Daniel went on. "It doesn't matter if you wouldn't have waited to kill that bastard. Your motives are the same, you have the same guiding principles I do.

"You may think you don't, having been ordered to kill, but if you'd had a huge problem with killing whomever you were sent to kill, you wouldn't have done it. Doesn't matter if I would have approved or not, then or now. The fact is that you need a moral and ethical reason to kill, just as I do. You'd have killed that bastard right off simply because he deserved it. And this is one time where I can't argue with you."

"Christ, Jack, call Guinness," Jason murmured, the tension in his shoulders relaxing.

"The World Record keepers or the Brewery?" Jack asked.

"Guys," Daniel admonished, looking at the ceiling. When they desisted, Daniel decided to give them both a reminder. "Seven years ago, I was standing in front of a Goa'uld temple on Chulak. I aimed the M16 I had at the container filled with larval Goa'uld and I shot the shit out of it." He paused, seeing the sudden knowledge on their faces. While Jason hadn't been there at the time, he'd read the report.

Jack hadn't seen him do it, and Daniel hadn't told him. Sam had, because Daniel had freaked her out. When Daniel had put it in his report, Hammond had kindly left any questions over it unasked and Daniel had been grateful that Jack had left it alone too. He had never once talked about it, either, because he'd never thought it necessary. But, it appeared that now, it was.

"Everyone assumed that I did it out of revenge," Daniel revealed. "I did. And I didn't. I'd been thinking how many lives those symbiotes would have destroyed. I saw Shau're in my mind, her eyes glowing... Two seconds later, I felt my finger close on the trigger and I was blasting that fucking container to bits."

He was quiet then, feeling no further urge to explain himself. There wasn't any need because he could feel the sympathy and understanding coming from his lovers. "So, Jason," he said, saying no more about it and hoping his lovers got the hint, "you wanna tell me why you hate Hamilton so badly? It's not just because he killed those people. I can feel it. It's the same cold rage you have against Baal and _had_ against Jalen. Or rather, Jalen's alter ego." He paused, then added because he suddenly felt hypocritical. "If you _want_ to talk about it, that is. Except I've been getting the idea that you do."

Jason nodded, slowly, but it took him a minute before broke the silence. "First, I wanted to tell you about why I had that dream, and about my feelings for Jalen. You were both right. He reminded me of those feelings about myself that I don't like. Grandfather reminded me, as you would have, that it's okay to have those feelings as long as I feel bad about them, as long as I don't let them take me over. The raven," and he looked down at his chest, "is a messenger. He's here to remind me who I am."

He paused, touching sections of the tattoo. "Through some bizarre act of fate, I was given a brother. It scared me that he could've been a psycho. I _think_ I'm fine about him now, especially considering he wasn't acting under his own volition. His existence here still freaks me out a little but I'm willing to get past it to see if I can't help him."

Jason paused, laughing nervously.

"What's funny?" Jack asked.

Shaking his head, Jason said, "Nothing. My own dark humor. What he's going through is more than what I went through, but the similarity and the fact that he's a twin has my sense of the ridiculous tweaked. Because I understand him, it's one reason I really didn't want to discourage Alex from seeing him."

When Jason looked at them, he found them looking at him with approval, which confused him. He'd expected them to react negatively, especially Jack. "It doesn't bother you that I say that I understand him?"

"He bothers me," Jack said honestly, "but not because he's your brother."

"Can you say why?" Jason asked.

Jack made a face. "To see a man with your face have glowing eyes. It gives me the idea what it'd be like if you ever took on a Tok'ra, or worse, and I'm sorry--Daniel--if this bothers you but I really hate that idea. It creeps me the fuck out."

Jason felt relieved. He could relate with Jack's feelings one hundred percent. "Daniel?" Jason asked.

Daniel made a face, too, but mostly because he was about to go in the opposite direction. "Well, my compassion has overridden my anger at Jalen. I find him fascinating in an odd sort of way, but it's not the sort of fascination that makes me wanna spend time with him... around the other Tok'ra." He paused, giving Jack and Jason a significant look. "I'd like to get to know him, Jason. Help him in some way by bringing him here, having him spend time on Earth again and just try and feel _normal_ for a while. Do you see what I mean or do you think I'm full of it?"

Jack exchanged looks with Jason. "I get that," he said with a sigh. "But let's not invite him over tomorrow because..." He gave each of his lovers a long look as he walked around to the foot of the bed and climbed on, stretching across, propping his head in his hand. Daniel and Jason broke apart and turned to face him, receiving a mischievous look they knew well. "I have plans."

Daniel and Jason both smiled to themselves. "How about you talk to him before we go to the Beta Site next week?" Daniel offered Jason. "He can stay here, providing Hammond says it's okay. We'll pick him up on the way back to the base. Think he'd go for that?"

Jason ran a hand through his hair. "I guess, though I suspect he'd like to stay with Alex. And I don't know how willing he is to accept me as a substitute for what he lost."

"Guess we'll see when you talk to him," Jack shrugged. "So what was the second thing?" He resettled himself, as if getting more comfortable for something he wanted to hear.

Jason cleared his throat. "My hatred. Most people think hatred is based on fear. Maybe it is, but my hatred is just that. Hatred. I can't pretend it's just anger or rage. Not to you two, anyway. From now on, when you hear me refer to my anger, you'll know I mean hatred and know also exactly what I mean by it."

Jason suddenly got up and paced the room, staring about, looking down at his boots. He stuffed his hands in his back pockets and stopped by the bedroom's bay window, contemplating sitting on the thinly padded bench seat. Two seconds later, he did, and began to talk as he removed his boots.

"Remember when I told you about my first time, when I was fifteen?" When they nodded, Jason said, "Grandfather warned me to be discreet." He took a huge breath. "But I didn't listen. I understood but I didn't understand. The Navajo boys weren't too thrilled seeing me walk into the movie theatre, holding hands with my boyfriend, but they didn't do or say anything about it. They simply gave me that disapproving look we get.

"Well, there were these white boys who were raised on the local ranches outside the Rez and they used to come riding through in their trucks, drunk, throwing empty beer bottles. We were walking back to my Grandfather's along that long road. You remember it?"

Daniel nodded but Jack pushed up and sat with his arms draped over his raised knees. "How many of them were there?"

Jason stared at the bottom edge of the bed while images of fists and boots came back to him. "Four. I gave what I could, earned several dozen bruises that took weeks to heal and a couple of broken ribs and a broken nose that took longer. Colton..." Jason felt the anger and loss still burned bright after all these years and he looked up into Daniel's face, saw clearly that he could feel it.

"I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. They'd broken his neck." Jason held up his hand when Jack made to come over to him. "No, Jack, stay there, please. It's easier for me to talk about this shit with the bit of distance between us."

"You never mentioned what happened to him when we were talking about our first times, Jason. You led us to believe you two parted company when you went into the Air Force."

"It's an easier fantasy to believe sometimes," Jason answered solemnly. "I started working out after that, and just before I signed up and went to the Academy, I had another run-in with those motherfuckers. I lost, again. The only fights I've ever lost were those two. After I got into the Air Force, I studied extra hand-to-hand training and earned a spot in the advanced classes. In those advanced classes was a loud-mouthed homophobe.

"Summer of my fourth year, I went down to Vegas and hooked up with a couple of guys who worked at one of the casinos as valets. We had a nice weekend," and Jason grinned fondly. "I started doing that every couple of weeks, usually seeing the same guys but finding someone else if they weren't available. One weekend, that phobe bastard was in Vegas and saw me going into the gayest club there, with my arm around a guy."

"Shit," Jack said between clenched teeth.

"You weren't kicked out," Daniel stated. "Why?" He looked at Jack and Jack seemed to have a look of understanding on his face. Had he been there? Daniel wondered. Probably.

"No. The bastard tried to blackmail me. Told me that if I didn't suck his cock whenever he wanted, he'd turn me in. I told him to fuck off, that we'd see who they believed. He laughed at me, then tried to kick the shit out of me along with two of his friends. Except I put him and his friends in the hospital. Special Ops read that in my file when I applied and after I told them the size of the men involved, they assigned me to a unit."

"Did he tell the Dean? Er, Commandant?"

"General," Jason smiled, "and yeah, he did. In the hospital. I told the General that the reason he was making the claim was because I turned him down, that I saw him entering a gay club in Vegas and he threatened to kill me if I narced. The General believed me, though I don't know why. Generally accusations of that sort don't tend to go away, but since this repressed phobe was one of their big time athletes with a history of bullying people, I was believed.

"A few years later, I was in Tokyo and ran into some men beating the shit out of a young gay man. I tore into them like white on rice. I never looked to see who they were or what they were wearing, but apparently one of them had ties to the Yakuza."

"Christ," Jack hissed and dropped his head down on his knees.

"Needless to say, I had to get the hell out of there before I became someone's sushi delicacy." Jason paused, remembering that night, and the curious lack of followers. "I think the gay man I helped had friends, because realistically, I shouldn't have gotten off that island intact.

"Since then, I've taken on three more groups of those phobes." He raised an eyebrow, remembering. "One such fight I came across wasn't on a gay man but a transgender. Not that that matters." Jason stood up, rubbing his hands over his jeans and turned around to stare out of the window.

" _She_ couldn't even fight," he went on. "Not at all. Poor woman was getting the crap beat out of her and unable to give anything in return because the three men kicking her weren't giving her an opening. I left several broken bones before I got her the hell out of there." He looked over his shoulder. "And I didn't pause to see if I'd killed any of them so don't ask." He suddenly smiled wanly. "Makes me seem like some vigilante or sicko who thinks he's a superhero."

"Jason," Jack warned, the tone telling him not to put himself down.

Jason crossed his arms and turned back to the window. "Anyway, this shit's happened all my life. When I saw those men with Makepeace, I recognized they weren't just goons helping a buddy. They were there to stand by and let Makepeace rape you while they considered doing the same thing to me. Homophobes they weren't, not in the strict sense of the word. They reminded me of those men in prison, ones they nickname bull queers." He paused then turned around and looked Daniel in the eyes. "I had no problem breaking their necks."

"I suspect you don't mean physical prowess," Daniel said blandly, though his emotions were far from bland.

Jason took in a slow breath. "Whenever there're phobes around and they're looking for a fight, I'll give it to them." He shook his head. "While I don't purposely start the fights, I lose all objectivity when challenged and I _will_ strike first if I think that's what they want."

When he saw their worried looks, he amended himself. "Don't worry. I can't afford to be careless enough to get my ass thrown in Leavenworth. Just that you need to be warned now because if we're out somewhere and we come across these people, if I think I can get away with it, I'll take care of them."

"Consider me relieved," Daniel said just as blandly as before.

Jason glanced at Jack and they both stared hard at Daniel. Jack seemed amused, Jason thought, but for himself, he was alarmed. Why was Daniel mad at him?

"Jason," Daniel drawled, the tone doing more than any scold. "C'mere, sit down."

Suddenly depressed and angry that Daniel didn't seem to sympathize, Jason sat back down on the window seat instead, thoughts of flight on his mind. He had no intention of hanging around and risking saying something that could cause more damage. "Say whatever you have to say, then I gotta go."

"What?" Daniel asked, sitting up straight, then getting off the bed and moving around to Jason. He could feel the emotions and automatically knew Jason had misread him. He sat down, a hand on Jason's tattooed shoulder. "No, no, Jason, it's not like that. Christ, I wish you had this empathy. There'd be no misunderstanding."

"I don't have it and I understood you fine," Jack said, earning himself a hard look.

"You're not Jason," Daniel told him, then turned his eyes on his dark-haired lover. "And you're not feeling vulnerable," he added, his eyes expressing warmth. "I am not upset with you, Jason," he went on, threading his fingers through Jason's hair, his expression one of admiration. "On the contrary, I'm in awe. I was flippant because I'm hiding my concern. I understand fully your need to defend people. I'd do it myself, in an instant, and you know that."

Daniel leaned in and kissed Jason lightly. "Stow that flight response. I'm not mad. I can't possibly be." Jason visibly relaxed and laughed abashedly. With his fingers still in Jason's hair, Daniel tugged and pushed in mock-punishment. "You really are blind and sensitive when it comes to this subject, Jason. You should've known better then to think I'd be mad."

Jason grimaced and said nothing while he looked over at Jack, who'd moved across the bed and now sat on the edge, facing him. "You're a right horse's ass, Jace," Jack told him, shaking his head.

Jason sighed and cleared his throat. "You're both right," he said, grinning at Jack. To Daniel, then Jack, he said, "Because of what happened to me when I was fifteen, and every time since, I've not been rational when it comes to homophobes or hate-mongers of any kind." With an apologetic look at Daniel, he added, "It's why your flip answer caught me off guard and I..." With a sheepish look he said, "misinterpreted it."

"Yep, horse's ass," Jack said, grin on his face.

"Jack," Daniel scolded, but he was trying and failing to suppress a grin.

"I though you guys would get it, you know? Understand where I was coming from because I know damn well you both have had to put up with this same shit in your lives. Either personally or having to witness it."

Daniel shrugged, removing his hand from Jason's hair. "I never thought it was worth talking about, Jason."

"Because it brings up emotions you don't like, doesn't it?"

Daniel grinned at him, then poked Jason _hard_ in the chest, making him bat Daniel's hand out of the way.

"Daniel!"

"And you say you don't know me?" Daniel scolded gently.

Jason twisted his mouth sardonically. "Proves your point about the subject matter, too."

Sighing deeply, Daniel told him, "I get angry when I think of all those times where I've come across someone being hurt because they were different. In my case, it's not just homophobia but misogynists and racial bigots. I've come across it all, Jason, and that's the hazard of being an archaeologist who travels all over.

"I learned how to use a gun and observe guerilla tactics while in Central America. In the Gansu province in China, I learned how to make gunpowder. I don't like to think about the worst things I've seen because it just makes me extremely angry. I don't see the point in getting angry over something that's history."

His tone was kind so Jason didn't take umbrage. Instead, he wished he was more like Daniel. "Just... be warned, Daniel. I'm not like you. I can't talk my way out of situations that I think deserve a bullet instead."

"Promise me to think first, kick ass later," Daniel told him, grabbing his hand, letting Jason see the concern in his eyes.

"I promise-- _providing_ someone isn't getting their ass kicked." Daniel started to open his mouth and Jason shushed it with his hand. "Daniel, don't worry. I won't land my ass in jail unless it's absolutely necessary."

"Jason..." Daniel objected.

"If I can keep from doing that, I will. Trust me. I'm not there yet, am I?"

"Hear, hear," Jack echoed. He regarded them solemnly, then turned his focus to Daniel. "I agree with Jason, Daniel. It's one of the reasons I'm still a Colonel. I've had what they call disciplinary problems, and what that really means is that I won't tolerate hate in my presence." He smirked. "Some might consider that an oxymoron or contradiction, hating something that spreads hatred and violence."

"Only intellectuals without a grasp on reality would consider such a bullshit view valid," Daniel said angrily. At the looks of astonishment he received, Daniel swallowed his anger and explained. "Having been tied to Academia most of my life, I've seen and heard my fair share of that crap, Jack. Still ticks me off when I hear it--and from scientists on the base, no less. It's one thing to debate the effects of bigotry. It's quite another to endure them." He paused and gave Jack a significant look. "It's one reason I keep telling you the _geeks_ need to be sent out on missions."

Jason shared a surprised grin with Jack. He knew Daniel had to work with some rather obstinate people, and Jason always considered science to be the one discipline in the world that demanded a prejudice-free mind. But then he remembered reading about the people who scoffed at Oppenheimer, Galileo, Marie Curie. "I take it you've corrected the speakers?" he asked Daniel and Jack sniggered.

"He has," Jack answered, waiting to see if Daniel would finally talk about it. All Jack knew was that he had and the science lab was notoriously tight-lipped. While good for Top Secret issues, it wasn't so good when problems arose. Daniel tried to fix things when he could but he wasn't in charge of the entire science division. Just archaeology and linguistics. A very _small_ sub-division of the SGC.

"I risk only getting my ass fired, not being dumped into the dungeons of Leavenworth," Daniel told them both, his expression pretty much telling them not to risk that.

Jason cleared his throat and shared a cryptic smile with Jack.

"I hate it when you two do that. What now?" Daniel said.

"We're taking risks just being together," Jason reminded him, and when Daniel was going to argue, Jason forestalled him with an upraised hand. "But I take your meaning. No _unnecessary_ risks. Ours," he added, eyeing Daniel, then Jack, "is necessary."

"Amen," Jack said, standing. "Now... I suggest continuing this discussion in the kitchen because I'm hungry." He then held out his hands, pretty much telling them that the kitchen suggestion wasn't really a suggestion.

With Jason, Daniel took Jack's outstretched hands and followed him out to the kitchen. Jason remained shirtless and Jack didn't bother with a shirt to go with his gym shorts. They were a bit of a distraction but Daniel didn't mind. The musky smell from his lovers made him feel at peace. At home. Any further thought on it though and that peace would change to something more energetically-inclined.

As Jack helped him make breakfast, Jason went out and got the paper. Opening the paper, he sat down at the table to look through the entertainment section and made humming noises.

"Whatcha reading?" Jack asked.

"You guys feel like going to see movie?"

"What's playing?" Daniel asked.

Jason's grin was ironic. "Brokeback Mountain."

Daniel grimaced. "Another time. I've read that story and I'm in no mood for tragic endings."

Jack grinned and winked at Jason. "He's a sentimental romantic."

"I'd really rather stay home," Daniel told them, "but if you two wanna go see something, go ahead."

Jason twisted his mouth. "Jack?"

Jack shrugged. "How about we go out to dinner instead?" Daniel and Jason nodded agreement. Jack then made a face as he wondered how to tell Jason that he didn't want Alex joining them. "Jason?"

"Hmmm?" Jason asked absently as he looked up from the movie review he was reading.

"I'd like it to be just us three."

As Jack busied himself with buttering the English muffins, Jason got up and stepped in behind him, kissing the back of Jack's head before leaning on the counter beside him. "Don't worry. He's not coming." Jason then repeated what he'd told Daniel earlier, including his decision about Alex.

"Except for spending one more time with him, which I want to be special. I'm at a loss how to go about it though."

Jack snorted. "You're at a loss?"

Jason threw him a dirty look. "I don't just want a simple fuck." For reasons beyond him, Jason suddenly blushed. He had no Earthly reason why it happened. He felt a little embarrassment in mentioning the fuck but it wasn't worth blushing over!

"Daniel, look, he's blushing."

"Shut up," Jason rumbled at him as he went past him to sit down. But Jack had other ideas and grabbed him around the waist, snuffling the back of his neck.

"It's so _cute_ ," Jack teased.

"Jack," Jason protested and when Jack didn't stop, he yelled for help. "Daniel!"

"Don't look at me, Mr. America," Daniel answered with a gentle gibe.

Jason couldn't respond because the comment had Jack falling back to the dining table, laughing his ass off. Jason leaned against the opposite counter and crossed his arms, waiting for Jack to stop laughing. He tried to be mad, but Daniel was smiling and Jack rarely laughed out loud like that. It was always nice to see that smile, regardless of the cause.

"You done?" Jason asked when Jack finally subsided.

Jack gave him that charismatic smile of his and moved over to slide his hands around Jason's waist. "C'mon, Jace, it was funny."

"Hmmm," Jason grumbled, unwilling to admit it only because Jack would goad him further. "Anyway," he pressed on, returning to the subject of Alex. "Once more, to say all I have to, and not in words." He paused, grinning. "Well, not conversational ones anyway."

Jack didn't reply but nodded his acceptance. He rather liked the idea of one more time himself, but this was probably something he could do without. This was Jason's goodbye, after all.

Once breakfast was served, the three men sat at their traditional three sides--long ago established for much needed elbow room--with Daniel at one end, Jack on the other, and Jason in the middle, his back to the French doors.

As he ate, Jason caught Jack eyeing him periodically, and at first, he thought Jack was worrying about him, thinking of his anger. But when he shoveled some bacon and hash browns into his mouth at the same time Jack looked at him again, Jason suddenly knew. Jack hadn't given anything away, but Jason knew.

Having observed the looks Jack was giving Jason, Daniel felt the sexual desire from Jack and grinned. "Something on your mind, Jack?"

Jack looked down the table at him and assumed a serious expression. Not a foreboding one, but contemplative and intense. "Something."

"Care to elaborate?" Jason asked, thinking he knew the answer as his dick began to stir uncomfortably in his jeans. Jason cursed himself for not wearing the baggier ones.

Jack cleared his throat and gave Jason a more intense look. "While I'd love to go back to the bedroom after breakfast, I think I'd like to wait until after dinner. I don't know about you two, but I had a pretty... potent... evening last night. Refueling is in order."

His words, matched with a sexy grin, made Jason and Daniel nod with soft laughter. "So the only question is, what restaurant?"

**. .**

Halfway through dinner, Jason suddenly raised his glass of draught over his plate. "Here's to my Grandfather," he said with an odd smile on his face. Jack and Daniel stopped eating and raised their glasses. "May he get into all sorts of mischief in his new life."

"Hear, hear," Jack and Daniel saluted together and clinked their glasses with Jason.

After letting a few respectful moments of silence go by, Daniel asked, "Didn't think he got into mischief."

Jason grinned. "Not like we usually think of but when he was back home in New Mexico, he was constantly arguing with the council or the Rez police."

"Over what?" Jack asked.

"Human Rights for Native Americans."

"That I can see," Daniel nodded as he ate another bite, then leaned back in his chair and patted his stomach. "No more for me."

"Full?" Jack asked, a little surprised.

"No, but getting there. If eat more, I won't be able to move." He then awarded Jason and Jack with a significant look. "And I'm gonna need to be able to move."

Jason looked down at his half-eaten lobster and mostly consumed steak, thought about what Daniel said, and after a swift look at his lovers--mostly for visual appreciation and encouragement--he set down his knife and fork. "I agree."

"Well," Jack said, setting his napkin on the table. "Guess that means we're done." Anxious grins met his and Jack raised his glass. "Jason, make a toast."

Jason thought it over, then studied Jack's body language. The man was definitely up to something, so he said, "I'll do the serious one. To healing."

Jack grinned. "You know me so well. To getting into mischief."

"And not getting caught," Daniel added, tongue between his teeth. The three clinked their glasses and drank.

After paying for the meal and tipping generously, they walked out of the dining room heading for the main entrance. To their left, the cashier and reception desk. To their right, the entrance into the lounge, and a loud derisive shout came from inside.

Jack wrinkled his nose. "There's a such thing as having a good time and there's a such thing as not being able to hold your liquor and acting like an ass."

"The two aren't always exclusive," Daniel added, looking at Jason for confirmation.

Jason nodded absently as he followed them out the door, wishing he could have seen inside the bar better.

"What's the matter?" Jack asked.

They were just stepping off the sidewalk to head across the lot for the truck when the owner of the loud mouth came through the doors, goading his friends about something or other.

Jason followed Jack and Daniel but his gaze over his right shoulder was frozen in place. A car could have hit him then and he wouldn't have known to get out of the way.

"Jason?" Daniel asked, standing by the passenger door as Jack started up the truck.

"It's not him," Jason whispered, trying to convince himself, shaking his head as his eyes fixed like magnets, watching loudmouth and his compatriots head for a Lexus sedan. The pricey object pissed Jason off. No homophobic fucker should drive a car like that, he thought, then abruptly halted that train of thought. He had no idea if this man was _the_ phobe never mind _a_ phobe. What was wrong with him?

Lin's oft-repeated quotation during his teen years suddenly came back to Jason:   _When you become obsessed with the enemy, you become the enemy_.

"Jason," Daniel called, then walked over and touched his shoulder. "Jason?"

Jason watched them approach the Lexus and he memorized the license plate. He walked backward, watching. "Get in the truck, Daniel," he said, then hurried behind him, got in after Daniel and slammed the door shut.

"Do me a favor, Jack. Follow that Lexus."

Jack put the truck in reverse and waited as the Lexus drove past them before he backed out and followed. Jason got a good look at them out in the open, but still, he wasn't sure the apparent leader of the men was the one he recognized.

Jason reached into the glove compartment and pulled out the pad and pen he knew Jack kept in there. He wrote down the license plate number and then stared at the silver car in front of them, tapping the pen on the pad nervously. Anxiously. _Angrily_.

"You still friends with that neighbor woman who works with the DMV?" he asked Jack.

Jack glanced over at the pad, then up into Jason's face as his lover stared out through the windshield. "If you need the ID, Jason, then we go through other channels so no questions are asked. And no, Delores moved last year."

"Oh."

"Who was it you saw?" Daniel asked, placing his hand on Jason's thigh. "I didn't recognize any of them."

"You wouldn't. And I don't know if it's the guy I'm thinking of. He's driving, so it might be his car."

"And how long am I to follow them, Jace?" Jack asked as the car moved off in the direction opposite to where they wanted to go. He didn't need to get an answer, however, because the car suddenly turned into a Hooters restaurant and lounge.

Jason's mouth set grimly. "Fucking figures. I hope those women know how to defend themselves."

"Who is it?" Jack asked as he pulled into the parking lot and boldly parked to the left of the Lexus. The men were still in the car, arguing, voices so loud that everyone knew it was about money.

"I'm not sure if it's him," Jason hedged, "and the last time I saw this person, I was 15 years old."

There was a significant pause before Jack said, " _If_ it's him."

Jason's jaw clenched, eyes boring a hole through the window as he looked down into the driver's seat, watching a man in his late 40s, out of shape, beer gut, with a blond crew cut. He _sort of_ looked like the 19 year old murderer from New Mexico, but Jason couldn't remember. He only had a bad feeling, but his deep hatred of that 19-year-old might just be clouding his feelings now. While he wasn't getting that feeling of falseness, he still had to keep it in mind.

"Yes, _if_ it's him. I wish I could be sure."

The men poured out of the Lexus and for a frozen moment, Jason silently dared the bastard to look at him, to recognize him. The driver glanced at Jack's truck, then at the cab, but he didn't look long enough to see inside. He turned away and gestured at one of his buddies about something as they headed toward the entrance.

Jack snapped his fingers and held out his hand for the paper with the plate number. Jason wrote down the man's name and tore off the page, handing it to Jack as he returned the pad and pen to the glove compartment.

"Dwayne Carlson?" Jack asked.

Jason nodded.

"I hate to ask a stupid question," Daniel drawled, "but if he's out on parole now, wouldn't he be breaking that parole by being in a different state?"

Jason changed his jaw clenching to grinding. "Justice was never served back then, Daniel."

Daniel stared at him disbelievingly. "What?"

Jack grimaced as he folded the paper and stuck it in his shirt pocket. "Why am I not surprised?" he said darkly.

Jason took a deep breath. "Let's get the fuck out of here, Jack. I want to get home, forget about this for the time being." He grimaced as Jack backed the truck out and headed back on the main road. "I should've just ignored them but something just... wouldn't let me." He shook his head in disgust to accent the grimace still on his face and Daniel abruptly took his hand in his.

"Maybe it was that _raven sense_ , as Jack so eloquently nicknamed it."

"Maybe," Jason answered.

"What happened?" Daniel asked, then cursed himself because Jason had just said he wanted to forget it. "Shit. Sorry. Never mind."

With another breath, Jason said, "Okay, one more thing, then we're done with this topic till next week, yes?"

"It'll be after that, Jace," Jack reminded him. "We have two weeks at the Beta Site."

"Crap, I forgot."

"If it's him, he's obviously not going anywhere," Jack added for insurance.

Jason awarded him a satisfied look. "True." He remained quiet for a few minutes, watching the familiar roads go by. Finally, he said, "He and his buddies were never charged, Daniel. Rich rancher daddy made up a story and bribed the cops. Because the cops were phobes and non-reservation, it worked.

"If this had happened on the Rez, then those bastards would have received justice. But Lin refused to live on the reservation because he didn't like the government telling him where his boundaries were. Lin was pissed off for a good long time."

Jason thought back, remembering Lin's constant phone calls, his bitching to the Tribal Elders to get involved. But Jason had two things going against him. He was a half-breed and he was gay. All the superior morality in the world didn't make the council any more sympathetic toward him. In fact, until Jason had made up with Lin, he'd believed his being gay had always disappointed his grandfather. Jason took a deep breath and thanked the Great Spirit that he'd had a chance to find out otherwise.

Daniel squeezed Jason's thigh, pulling him from his thoughts. "I love you, you know that?"

Jason couldn't help the smile growing on his face. "I know." His anger began to ebb away as he felt the support and love from Daniel and Jack, their presence a major source of strength for him. "I love you back. Both of you."

Back at Daniel's, they pulled off their coats and hung them up, and as Daniel fixed up drinks, Jack thumbed at the bathroom. "I'm gonna have a quick shower. Feeling kinda sticky."

Jason smiled. "In that tub, we could all fit in."

Jack grinned. "We could, but I want that big bed, so just give me ten and I'll be back."

"We'll meet you in the bedroom, Jack," Daniel said, altering the plans. Jack nodded with a grin and disappeared, a little spring in his step that made Jason snicker. "Here, put ice in these as I make them up," Daniel said, and handed Jason a tall glass of what looked like chocolate milk.

Jason knew it wasn't chocolate but coffee liqueur. He added ice to his, then Daniel's and Jack's, all the while sipping on his drink, making yummy noises.

Daniel smirked at him as they went down the hall toward the bedroom, then began to mock-complain. "You never make those noises during sex."

"That's because those're tummy noises, Daniel," Jason clarified loftily. He set the glass down and shucked off his shirt before his boots came next.

"Tummy?" Daniel grinned.

"Yes. Quite different from the dick noises."

Daniel started laughing, fumbling with the buttons of his jeans and since Jason was already naked, having stripped quickly, he moved over and helped Daniel out. "Having trouble?"

"Dick noises?" Daniel asked as he pulled off his jeans, then shorts.

"Well, think about the moaning types. When you're eating yummy food, you make a slightly different sound to match the feeling you have. When sucking cock, on the other hand... totally different."

Daniel snickered but agreed. "Right." Sprawling over the center of the bed and onto his right side, he patted the mattress. "Here."

Jason handed Daniel his drink first, then lay down on his stomach, forearms holding him up so he could drink. His dick twitched from the contact with the blanket and was already beginning to stiffen from anticipation. The sexual need combined with the innuendo was serving as good foreplay and quickly dispelling his dour, angry mood. Daniel was purposely avoiding the mood-destroying subject, too, which Jason appreciated no end.

"Dinner was nice," he said, meaning it. "We should plan a trip to Oz for our next month-long leave. I'd like to go diving around those reefs."

Daniel beamed. "That's an excellent idea, Jace." Then for some reason, he thought of Jalen. "Do you know how different Jalen's Earth was to ours? Before the Goa'uld, I mean?"

Surprised by the sudden mention of his alternate twin, Jason's brow furrowed in concentration. "I have no idea, Daniel. I never got around to comparing notes about the mundane." He paused, eyes narrowing. "Why?" he drawled.

Daniel shrugged one shoulder. "Thinking of Australia made me wonder, that's all. Did they even have an Outback Steakhouse and that sort thing."

"Your mind is a weird place, Daniel Jackson," Jason said, shaking his head.

Amused, Daniel replied, "So's yours, Jason Coburn."

"My point is, why did you suddenly think of him?" Jason asked as he reached over and set his glass on the end table.

Daniel scooted closer, then teasingly reached across Jason to set his glass next to his. Pulling back, he remained close and snuffled Jason's hair. "No, Jason, I'm not asking for him to join us."

Jason was relieved, but the reason why he'd been bothered disappeared with Daniel's closeness. He turned, bringing his face in contact with Daniel's, inhaling Daniel's mild aftershave, the slight smell of musk coming from one of his underarms. With his nose and mouth at the jaw line, he whispered, "Have I told you today how much I love you?"

Daniel slowly pushed Jason's shoulder backward, putting him onto his back, and as he brought his face up close to Jason's, his hand slid down ever so lightly across his abdomen. And dangerously close to his cock. He didn't answer Jason's question. All he did was look into his eyes. In the background, the shower turned off. Jack would soon be joining them.

Jason grinned. "He certainly likes to be clean, but he can't hide the reason he's _really_ taking a shower."

Daniel's mouth curved upward, his eyes bright with humor. "You mean that he's purposely taking advantage of the fact that we adore him when he's wet?"

"Yes," Jason breathed. "Or you." He lunged suddenly and put Daniel on his back, and _somehow_ managed not to fall on top of him. Which he so desperately wanted to do. Staring down into Daniel's face, listening to him chuckle, Jason bit his lip and slid his finger along an inner thigh, watching Daniel as he stopped laughing. "I love you."

Daniel answered by snaking his fingers around Jason's neck and pulling him down, claiming his mouth for several hungry kisses. Letting him go, Daniel called out, "Jack, hurry the fuck up!"

"I'm already here," Jack said, grinning his head off. Wet, naked, he walked over next to the bed. "Been watching you."

Jason gave Daniel a knowing smirk, then adroitly stretched across the bed and grabbed Jack's arm, yanking him down on the bed. Daniel moved quickly and Jack soon found himself on his back, bookended. And still grinning his head off.

"Looks like he didn't dry himself," Daniel told Jason archly, but his eyes were on Jack's face, his upper lip... where a few water drops had not yet dried.

Jason reached over and nudged Daniel. "You go this time. I had him last."

Daniel chuckled mischievously and stared down into Jack's eyes. "Should I go first?"

"You're _asking_?"

Daniel's eyes abruptly darkened. "I don't need to, do I?" he said rhetorically as he bent and kissed him, loving the combination of cool top skin and water and the heat of his flesh underneath. Daniel plunged his tongue inside his mouth as his hand met Jason's and caressed Jack's wet chest, abdomen. His cock.

Jason smiled mischievously, right hand curling around the shaft, caressing him, jacking him the way Jack liked. Jack grabbed his hand, guiding him, enjoying him, making a pleased sound as he broke Daniel's kiss.

He pulled Jason down for a kiss, and whispered, "I can't wait till I can give that bird a thorough going-over."

"Me, too," Daniel said, winking at Jack.

Jack grinned, then returned his gaze on Jason. "Before we get to anything else..." Jack peered into his lover's face, searching for any residual anger or stress. He didn't find any, but before they continued, he needed to find out how Jason was doing with everything. He'd kept himself from asking over the last couple of weeks, leaving it to Jason to heal in his own way. But right now, Jack needed to know. And he needed Jason to feel confined in order to answer his question correctly. "Switch places."

Confused, Jason lay down between them, though he certainly didn't mind a damn bit. "What?"

Jack stared down at him, asking, "We've both been wondering how _you_ are doing," and emphasized the question by skimming the back of his hand up Jason's belly, over his chest and shoulder, then down his arm--where he gripped his wrist.

Jason understood. "About bondage?" He looked up at Jack, then Daniel, and swallowed. "I'm getting better," he told them, but truthfully, he'd hoped they wouldn't ask. He wasn't in the mood, which in itself told him something because before that nasty incident with Baal, Jason never refused the idea.

"But?" Daniel asked, running his hand over Jason's abdomen, his ribs.

Even without the previous foreplay, the touch drove Jason crazy and his skin goosebumped under Daniel's fingers. "I'm... getting there. It all depends. Right now, I think I can manage this," and he held up his arm, Jack's hand still gripping his wrist.

"Meaning you only want one thing or...?" Jack asked as he moved his hand to Jason's belly, caressing the line of dark hair that ran to his pubes.

Jason was about to answer when Daniel interrupted by flicking at his navel ring with a pinkie nail. "Daniel," he scolded.

"Sorry," Daniel said, lips curling with amusement.

"Y'are not."

"So, it all depends on what?" Jack reminded.

Jason hitched a breath when Daniel messed with his navel ring again so he grabbed Daniel's hand so he could answer. "It _means_ ," he said, his tone a warning aimed at Daniel's guiltless, grinning face, "I don't want anyone else but you tying or holding me down. And for a while, I'll probably have to be facing you so I don't get the image of those bastards in my head."

"So, if Daniel and I were to hold your wrists down," Jack said as he slowly moved Jason's right arm over his head to illustrate, "As we took turns fucking you, that would be okay?"

Jason swallowed, taken off-guard by the sudden eroticism of Jack's idea. "God yes."

"That what you wanna do, Jack?" Daniel asked, leaning over to tease Jason's ring with his tongue.

"Whatever you plan," Jason stated, "I need to taste the two of you." They looked at him, waiting for something more, and Jason added, "Together."

"This could be interesting," Daniel murmured. He got to his knees, his hands stroking Jason's skin from hip to collarbone, and sucked in a groan when Jason's left hand grasped his cock.

Jason grasped Jack's cock, getting a groan from him as well, and gave them both a look before firming his grip and tugging. He grinned as they both shouted in surprise and flailed to catch each other from falling.

"Brat," Jack accused and pulled at Jason's arm. "Let's get a little more comfortable, shall we? Up against the headboard, Jason."

Reluctantly, Jason let go of Daniel and scooted around quickly, sitting up with his mouth now at the more appropriate level. He reached out again with both hands, tugging once more, and Jack and Daniel grabbed hold of the top of the headboard, leaning their hips in toward his face.

"Yes," Jason breathed as the scent of both men flooded his senses. He snaked out his tongue, moving from Daniel to Jack, taking a wet swipe across the heads of their cocks.

"C'mon, open up," Daniel teased, making Jason laugh against his flesh. Daniel flicked a sensual look at Jack, then pressed their cockheads together, rubbing.

"Smell so good," Jason moaned as he indulged himself, temporarily allowing himself to forget if they wanted anything else. His hands continued to touch, fondle, caress, but mostly, he held them close, not wanting to let them escape for any reason. Best of all, they didn't mind.

With their cocks pointing at each other, Jack was immediately reminded of something. "Hold still," he told Daniel and held his cock head to Daniel's. He gently pulled the foreskin over the head, then over the head of his own cock. It didn't quite cover him because they weren't close enough--they'd have to kneel directly onto Jason's legs for that. However, it seemed to be good enough for Daniel.

He groaned, biting his lip as Jack clumsily docked their dicks together, stroking the foreskin over them. It wasn't done as completely as he'd have liked, but it was definitely enough for Jason, who leaned in and wrapped his lips over both heads, tonguing the foreskin and teasing not just them, but himself as well.

He groaned with pleasure while both Jack and Daniel threaded fingers through his hair, encouraging him, petting him. Jason looked upward, watching Daniel lean in to kiss Jack; their chests rose rapidly, bellies moving in such a way that made Jason's cock ache. The sight of them both forced Jason's arousal higher and he pulled them apart, rubbing the heads of their cocks across his skin, the pre-come smearing onto his lips, his cheeks.

Opening wide, he took both heads into his mouth, sucking as best he could, but what he lacked in accommodation, he made up for with enthusiasm. He moaned, wanting to speak, to rub, to do everything at once. Pulling back, Jason whispered, "Tastes so good," and rubbed his face against them both.

"Time for three-way," Jack suggested under his breath. He moved away, jacking himself to maintain the level of pleasure, loving how the act of it excited a look of desire on his lovers' faces. He moved down over the bed, head toward the foot, and lying on his side, with his legs open wide, he thrust through his fist several times. "Jason, lay here," he said, then patted the bed in front of him. "Daniel, take mine."

"No problem," Daniel echoed as both he and Jason lay down, making sure each could touch the other, creating a triangle of limbs and torsos and hungry mouths. As Jason sucked Daniel's cock into his mouth, Daniel took Jack's and Jack took Jason's. They went at it fervently, hands playing with balls, fingers playing with puckered holes, sliding in just enough to tease.

Feeling the scratchy edge of plastic against the back of his thigh, Daniel reached behind him and found the lube. With another inspired idea, he squirted lube onto his fingers while he continued his attention on Jack's cock. Before inserting his fingers into him, he tossed the lube in front of Jack and Jack broke off his attention to stare at it, confused for about two seconds. Daniel hinted by applying lube thickly to his hand. Jack got the hint.

Both he and Jason groaned with need and pleasure as he prepped and played with Jason's ass and Daniel played with his. Fingers entered and probed, fucked and caressed, and Jack's desire ratcheted up another notch at the thought that he'd be the center of this train.

Loving the attention, Jason decided that Daniel shouldn't be left out; though he was the only one who wasn't getting fucked, he was about to have the next best thing. Jason lubed a finger with spit, took nearly all of Daniel's cock into his mouth before sliding his finger deep into his ass. Daniel bucked with surprise and pulled off Jack's cock.

"Holy shit," he breathed, spitted onto Jason's finger, engrossed in riding him as Jason sought out his gland. "Jason, don't... make me..."

Jason groaned around his cock, ignoring Daniel's warning, rubbing his gland even more as the luscious torture began, making Daniel lose his concentration completely, which made Jack lose his. Jason kept at it, however, furiously and with obvious intent, bringing Daniel nearly to orgasm before he abruptly backed off, removing his finger and pulling Daniel's cock from his mouth.

"You bastard," Daniel breathed, cock now an angry red with the need to come.

"Got you primed," Jason said, looking down to wink at Jack.

Daniel needed no more of a hint and said, "Jack, it's time."

"Yes. It is," Jack replied softly, his dick leaking profusely now.

Jason got up on his knees, grabbing the lube and quickly slicking up his cock for his own jacking off. As he got onto all fours, he jacked faster, making his asshole contract. Wet with lube, his body ready, he gruffly demanded, "Jack, I need you."

Jack maneuvered behind him, but before plunging in, he turned and grabbed Daniel by the neck and pulled him in for a searing kiss. "I love you," he whispered.

Daniel smiled, "I know," then playfully but forcefully, pushed Jack forward. "Take him, Jason."

"Yes," Jason breathed, spreading his knees and raising his ass.

"Not yet," Jack interrupted, and pulled Jason up, turning his face to the side so he could kiss him. "You ready?"

"You done kissing me?" Jason asked, opening his mouth for another kiss. Stroking himself again, he said nothing more as he promptly dropped onto his forearms. He didn't get the chance to grab handfuls of blanket before Jack buried his cock inside him in one long, hot stroke. "Shit!" Jason gasped and dropped his head down. Jack began to thrust deeply and Jason needed no encouragement or guidance. "Daniel?" he asked when he didn't feel the extra weight thrusting in behind Jack's.

"I'm getting there," Daniel said, his eyes closed momentarily as he rubbed his cockhead against Jack's ass, moving entirely with Jack's rhythm, waiting for the right moment. It was so good, teasing himself like this, but it would be even better when...

"Daniel," Jack breathed, one arm around Jason's waist, the other straight-armed on the bed.

That was what Daniel had been waiting for. That impatient command he preferred to hear only during sex. "In a minute," Daniel lied, and in the next beat, the next thrust forward into Jason, Daniel chose that moment instead of the withdrawal he knew Jack expected.

He slid home completely, groaning almost silently as he buried his cock in that deep, enveloping heat. Jack clutched around him, groaning a lot louder, Daniel watched him bite into Jason's shoulder, smiled as Jason turned his head and looked at him peripherally.

"That's it, Daniel," he panted.

"Liked that?"

"Oh yeah."

"You guys wanna be alone?" Jack cracked.

Daniel slid both hands over his back, caressing him, enjoying him. "No," both he and Jason replied.

Jack licked at the wound he'd made, then made another and another, covering Jason's broad shoulders with gentle red marks that would disappear by morning. Maybe. "You know it's never a good idea to ignore me," he warned.

Jack proved his words, building up a sweat as he cranked up the pace faster than his lovers did. Backwards, forwards, he got off on the dual pleasure and the sounds they made as he heard their breathing quicken and grow raspy. Just as his own did. When Jason tightened around his cock, Jack knew he'd go first, and aided that wonderful grip on his cock by sliding his hand down and pinching the ring on Jason's navel.

Gasping loudly, Jason squeezed his eyes shut as he reached behind him and grabbed Jack's arm. He raised his ass and froze, coming hard as Jack hammered into him.

With Daniel matching his rhythm, moving with him as he fucked Jason's ass, the tight grip around his cock was nearly too much. Jason tried to keep that grip around him, but Jack could feel him relaxing as his orgasm waned. Jack reached down and jacked his sensitive cock, making Jason's ass spasm around him.

"Jack!" Jason protested, grimacing from the acute pleasure and pain.

"A little more," Jack breathed, thrusting faster.

"Yes, that's it," Daniel said, and abruptly withdrew, shoving two lubed fingers inside Jack's ass while his hands took hold of his balls. "Squeeze yourself, Jason," Daniel ordered.

Jason fell onto his chest, spent, but did as Daniel asked. Grabbing hold as Jack had done, he thumbed the head instead, making his asshole flex. "Fuck me," he growled.

Jack tried, but his climax was coming with Daniel's fingers strategically rubbing his gland. Come started to spurt from him and he made the hitched sound Daniel and Jason were very familiar with. Daniel chose that moment to remove his fingers and thrusting in hard, fingers bruising Jack's hips, Daniel held him fast and pummeled his ass with his cock.

It was almost too good, the acuteness of it as he fucked him, the heat riding over his cock, pulling the orgasm slowly from him. When Daniel finally came, he threw himself over Jack's back, feeling not just Jack's hands reaching back but Jason's hand on his arm. Daniel clasped his fingers and pumped himself into Jack, feeling as if he were pumping into both of them. And in a sense, he was.

Slowly, they dropped onto their sides, relaxing onto the bed, though they didn't move far away from each other. Jason didn't feel like turning around, so he set the direction, with his head at the foot of the bed. Behind him, Jack spooned against him, and behind Jack, lay Daniel. He wrapped his arm around them both, inhaling the odor of sweat from Jack's skin and the scent of sex that filled the room.

"Now _that's_ what I call dessert," he murmured before succumbing to the usual nap, Jack and Jason absently moaning agreement having already started to doze off.

**. . .**

Over the weekend, Jason asked Hammond--through Jack--for permission to pack up a large version of a care package. For Jalen. His request had surprised Jack and Daniel. For about five minutes. Then they realized that they should have seen this coming. Jason rarely kept a grudge against someone who wasn't an enemy.

He spent time packing items in a shoulder bag, a duffle, and a large cooler. New clothes like jeans, a leather jacket, boots went into the duffle along with a portable DVD player with several films. Saturday night, he spent a considerable amount of time uploading songs from his music library into an IPod. On Sunday afternoon, he packed food. Fresh food, packaged food, an ice cream in a mini-freezer container, and lastly, homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Finished, he took the last batch from the oven and moved over to the cold ones to pack into the plastic container. One he had set aside for Hammond as a thank you.

A noise behind him told him Jack and Daniel entered the kitchen and Jason smiled even though they couldn't see his face. "You two done fooling around in the bathtub?"

Daniel snorted. "Oh, we broke it up. Didn't seem fair to have all that fun while you were slaving away, so..." He pressed up against Jason's backside. He brushed his lips against his neck. Jason felt the wetness against his t-shirt, his shorts, and looked over his shoulder to find Daniel, and Jack, wearing nothing but a towel.

Jack reached over and stole a warm cookie. "Yuummmy," he moaned.

"There're more," Jason rolled his eyes. "I made a huge batch." He pointed with his spatula at the three other containers, all filled.

"So that's why you got up early this morning," Daniel said as he reached down Jason's arm and took the spatula from his hand. "Now, you can leave these be for a while."

Jason could definitely feel something hard against his ass and knew precisely what it was. He squirmed slightly, rubbing back against Daniel. "That for me?" he asked.

"Well, I've had him three times," Jack said with a mouthful of cookie. "It's your turn to get pounded."

Jason snickered as cookie dust flew from Jack's mouth. "You're so eloquent."

"C'mon, baby," Daniel teased. "Time to put down the toys and get to bed."

As he spoke, Jack took one hand, Daniel took the other, and they led Jason down the hall. "What happened to the bath?" Jason asked.

"Oh, we'll have one," Daniel told him as he turned around in the middle of the hallway, then shoved Jason against the wall.

His eyes glittered with mischief and lust and Jason felt his dick hardening, his body thrumming with anticipation. "After... what?" he astutely asked. Daniel leaned in and slowly kissed him, deeper and more insistently until they were both panting.

"After several other things happen first," Jack answered, and for emphasis, he lifted the hand he held and pinned it against the wall next to Jason's head.

Daniel did the same with the other, then slipped his fingers under the waistband of Jason's shorts, taking firm hold of his cock. He made a groaning, satisfied sound as he stroked, pleased when Jason's eyes half-lidded. "Any objections?" he asked.

Jason couldn't think of why there'd even be any and gave in to Daniel's hand, Jack's tongue, and several other body parts.   


  


_On Qalar..._

**. . .**

Jason walked into Jalen's quarters and grinned sheepishly when Jalen stared stupidly at him.

"What's all this?" he asked as Jason set down the cooler and the duffle.

"Well," Jason said, setting the shoulder bag onto the half-moon desk nestled into the wall. "I thought I'd bring you a care package." He paused and stared at Jalen, noting how his hair had grown longer in the last five weeks, though he'd trimmed his mustache and goatee.

Jalen returned the long look, then eyed the huge cooler. Jason could see his mind working out what could possibly be in there and he gestured nervously. "Everything that's in there and in the bags is designed to bring you a little of home as it used to be in your universe."

Jalen sighed.

"What's the matter?" Jason asked, wondering how in the hell he'd guessed wrong. He'd been so sure...

" _This_ is my universe now, Jason," he answered. Then smiled. "And thank you. I never thought I'd get to go back to Earth unless I stole a ship and snuck my way back."

"What's kept you from doing that?" Jason asked carefully.

"If I went back, I'd have to steal what I need and want. I've lived like a thief long enough, Jason."

Jason nodded with understanding. "I'd thought of that, actually, so I decided to bring you some stuff. Some of which you can eat." He opened the lid to the cooler. "I know you drink, or did, anyway, but I didn't know what so I guessed. I grabbed some Guinness and Becks, then stashed a bottle of bourbon."

Jalen came up next to him as he talked and gasped when he peered inside. "You brought fruit!"

"Including some proper flatware to eat it with. My next visit, I'll bring some cooking stuff."

"I have those here, Jason, so there's no need," Jalen said, waving the offer away as he reached in for a banana. He reverently peeled the skin back and took a bite, exhaling with pleasure. "God, it's been _ages_."

"I brought some clothes, too. They're in the duffle."

"Clothes?" Jalen asked, confused.

Jason grinned. "Jeans, jacket, boots, underwear, that sort of thing. Thought you might like some."

Jalen walked over to the duffle and opened up the top to peer inside. He slowly turned around, suspicion on his face.

"What's the matter?" Jason asked.

"Why?" he asked back.

Jason needed no other explanation. Fortunately, he'd prepared himself for Jalen's reaction. The last time they'd seen each other, Jason had been forgiving but not accepting. Now suddenly there was all this... _stuff_. As if he were buying his way into Jalen's life.

"If you don't want any of it, then zat it out of existence. I won't take offense."

"Answer the question, Jason," Jalen asked quietly.

"Because... I treated you unfairly. Because I owe you. Because you're... my brother, no matter the reality."

"Even if he shares his existence?" Camulus asked.

"None of this is conditional," Jason assured him. "It's not a bribe to keep you silent. I won't pretend I understand what it's like to want to be blended or share my body with someone. But it was his choice, Camulus, and I have to respect that or I don't belong here. And I'm asking you for your patience over my ignorance."

Camulus shook his head, raising a hand as he kept his eyes locked on Jason's. "You are not ignorant, Jason. Ignorance is someone presented the availability of knowledge and they refuse it. You have the knowledge. You just don't have the understanding. Until you blend with a Tok'ra symbiote, you never will. _But_ that doesn't mean you lack the respect and compassion."

"Thanks," Jason said, embarrassed by the compliments. "May I ask a great personal favor?"

"Go ahead," Jalen answered.

Startled but undaunted, Jason took a breath and plunged into it. "Well, um, forgive me the audacity but... it would be a good idea if you didn't sleep with Alex any more. We're ending our relationship and I'm trying to get him to--"

As he'd been speaking, Jalen had frowned a bit, then to Jason's annoyance, smiled just a bit. "Jason, we've never had sex."

Jason blinked at him. "But he said..." Jason suddenly replayed all his conversations with Alex about Jalen. "No, he never said. He let me believe. Why would he do that?"

"To ease your mind about me, I suspect," Jalen answered thoughtfully. "Despite your anger at us, at me, I mean, I figured that you would feel responsible for my well-being, rationalized or not. So I told him that only if you asked him should he tell you the truth. It was better to let you think we were."

"Why?" Jason asked, his annoyance increasing.

"Because you liked the fact that he was willing to help me, especially since you didn't feel you could do that yourself. In your mind also was your relationship and therefore... his inevitable attraction to me."

Jason jogged his eyebrows. "Point. Did you even _talk_ about his worry about what happened between you two at the fortress?"

To Jason's surprised, Jalen looked at him in shock, his face flushing. "You mean when I tried to rape him?"

Jason studied his face and took Jalen's hand. "Alex said there was part of that which excited him, got him off, and he said he was either going to talk to you about or he had. I kinda forget which now."

"He never brought it up," Jalen answered, pulling his hand from Jason's. "Possibly because he knew it hurt me to bring that up."

"I didn't mean to hurt you," Jason told him earnestly.

Jalen's eyes widened. "I didn't mean to imply that you did. I'm just saying..." Mid-sentence, Jalen changed direction. "No, he never talked to me about it. Did he talk to you?"

Jason gave him a shrug. "He did, and we determined that it wasn't S & M that attracted him, but force. Not rape. Just force. It isn't complete submission, but it's quite close. Why?"

"Just wondered. There's a big difference between you and I that I don't think Alex has grasped yet."

"What's that?"

"I'm bisexual."

Jason stared at him for a _very_ long, silent minute. "No shit?"

"No shit," Jalen said, smirking. "You're gay, like my Jason was. We used to tease each other endlessly." He paused, realizing the digression. "Um, about that other thing. Is S & M something you like?"

Jason shook his head. "It's not my thing. And I'm neither a dom nor a sub, since I have needs for both, in bed, but never as a lifestyle. I am, however, a huge bondage fan." He paused. "Erm, well, I was. It'll take a while for that get back in the repertoire."

Again, Jalen flushed. "I'm s..." His eyes flashed suddenly and Camulus sighed and gave Jason a weak smile. "That bothers him a great deal, just as it does me. We both hope you'll talk to us, help you if you need it. We're partly responsible and need to do something about it if we can."

Jason swallowed, hard. "You are, trust me."

"I think the fact that we're able to talk to each other about it is a good thing."

"I think so, too."

"I also believe it is Alex's doing. He did nothing but listen to me." With a strange smile, Camulus added, "And that's all he did."

Jason shook his head. "I shouldn't have brought it up--"

"No, you cannot walk on eggshells. We need to deal with this." Camulus paused, closed his eyes, and when he spoke, he was Jalen again. "Jason, you also need to deal with something. Do you remember my telling you that I was involved with my Alex?"

"I remember," Jason said, cringing. "It's why I didn't... I fucked up, didn't I?" He shouldn't have said anything and mentally kicked himself.

"I wasn't just involved, Jason. He was my husband."

Jason stared at him, stunned. It now made much more sense why Alex and Jalen were so unusually close. But was it healthy? More than that, Jason had no right to ask Jalen to stop seeing Alex, and he had even less right now. "Oh god," he whispered. "I'm... such an _asshole_."

"You're not," Jalen said kindly. "I can put the shoe on the other foot. I can see how you're trying to protect him. But Alex doesn't need protecting. He's quite a bit different than the Alex from my universe, too, so there's really no danger of my confusing them."

"How're they different?" Jason asked.

"My Alex was gay, and had been out since he was 16 years old. He wasn't in the military, and was a medical doctor."

Jason stared and found he had absolutely nothing to say.

"You okay?" Jalen asked.

"Fine," Jason said, shaking his head. "I'm just... feeling very stupid and selfish." He turned away from Jalen and crossed his arms. He'd been so worried about himself, so goddamn selfish, that he couldn't see Jalen's pain. The man was suffering a lot more than Jason had, that was for certain. Turning back around to face him, Jason said, "I withdraw my request about Alex, even if it didn't apply anyway. I had no right and I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Jason. As I said, I do understand. Now... may I ask you some personal questions?"

Jason rolled his eyes. "It's all personal, you silly shit. You don't have to ask permission. Just ask." Jalen suddenly blushed again, but this time, his eyes welled up. "What's the matter?" Jason asked, touching his shoulder.

"You just reminded me of your other self," he said. "You were very similar."

"Oh," Jason answered. "I guess that's a good thing?"

"It is," Jalen answered.

"So, what'd you wanna ask?"

"Are you still angry with me?"

"I wouldn't be here if I were."

They stared at each other in silence, then Jason walked over to the table and opened the bag. Jalen watched curiously, nibbling at the banana he'd been holding. Jason moved to the bedside table and set down small black squares.

"Oh my god. Are those speakers?" Jalen asked with excitement, picking up one of the tiny things.

Jason was filled with sudden, inexplicable happiness at being able to make Jalen smile like that. He indulged in it, grinning evilly, conspiratorially, and connected the MP3 player. He showed Jalen the menu, the playlists, then selected one. He grinned and looked at Jalen.

"Oh that's evil," Jalen whispered admiringly.

"You had these guys in your world?"

Jalen snorted. "I think every world has these guys," as the opening music started for Nirvana's _Lithium_.

"For whenever that Anise comes at you," Jason grinned. "This is guaranteed to make her run for the hills, never mind our enemies."

Jalen rocked his head in time with the music, grinning ear to ear. "Don't know why, either. I love this music." He paused and turned, giving Jason a long look. "How'd you know? How'd you know to bring any of this?"

Jason shrugged. "I had a feeling."

"Yeah?"

Jason grinned at him, and as one, they both sang... loudly, and started laughing as passing Tok'ra stopped and gawked at them.

"Camulus like it?" Jason asked.

"I like it," Camulus answered, "but then I've always been an odd Tok'ra."

As he picked up the MP3 player and looked through the list of songs, his eyes widened and grinned as mischievously as Jalen had. "I especially like _this_ one. Jalen calls me a 60s hippy." _In a Gadda Da Vida_ began to play. He looked up and shook his head with disbelief. "Seriously, Jason, how'd you know?"

With his right hand, Jason tapped his tattoo. "A little knowing gift. I can't control it, either. I just know stuff. Not everything, but when it seems I need to know something, my instinct cranks up high and I seem to know what to do about... whatever the subject is. Sometimes I can't tell if it's my own simple intuition or something I've gained from the gift. My intuition has always been high so maybe I not only inherited it but had it enhanced by the ritual."

Jalen appeared then, asking, "Is the intuition the reason you're trusting me?"

Jason swallowed. "It happened after Lin's ritual. This past weekend, it was weird but I just... accepted. I'd been trying already but it hadn't been working then suddenly, it fell into place like a key in a lock."

"How did that go?" Jalen asked emotionally. "Did he die well?"

"Like he thought he would, quietly, surrounded by family," Jason managed.

"He say anything, besides the gift thing?"

"You mean like advice?" Jason asked, grinning.

"If our grandfathers were the same, then I'm quite certain he did."

"You'd be right," Jason told him, then described the ritual in detail, giving Jalen every nuance of it right down to the incense. As he spoke, repeating everything that Lin had said, Jalen started to look at Jason strangely, cocking his head to one side. "What?" Jason asked.

"There's something else," Jalen stated, not guessing.

Jason narrowed his gaze. "You sure you don't have this gift?"

"It's not me, it's Camulus. He says there's something else. What happened when you were fifteen?"

"You never had a boyfriend named Colton?"

"I did but he moved away. Things were different with me, Jason. You and I were inseparable. We did damn near everything together, including... well, you know. When I was a teen, I wanted guys more than gals. And we'd go to that one place together... you know the one. You'd be the lookout or I would be."

Jason knew immediately what Jalen meant. That one public toilet on the edge of the national park land. "There were so many times I nearly got caught."

"Helps when you have a lookout."

Squashing the resentment and the useless waste of dwelling on what he never had, Jason took a moment before explaining what had happened when he was fifteen. He was surprised by his own positive, _needy_ reaction to Jalen's touch when he petted his hair, his head, as he talked about Colton's death. He then told him about how he'd thought he'd seen the killer only a few days before.

Jalen sat down on the bed and pulled Jason down next to him. Another long moment later, he looked over at him. "Be careful, Jason."

"I can take care of myself, Jalen, but thanks."

"That's not what I meant."

"What then?"

"I don't remember the _exact_ quote, but I remember enough. I've been thinking of it a lot lately."

"What?" Jason asked.

"Confucius. He said that when you embark on a journey of revenge, dig _two_ graves."

Jason stared into that strange, familiar face. "I've no intention of risking myself just to get back at him."

"I figured as much, but the warning is there just the same, Jason. Be careful."

"I will," Jason assured him quietly, wondering why he didn't feel defensive about getting advice from Jalen. Surprising both of them, he suddenly reached out and touched him back, stroking Jalen's goatee. "Are you my lookout, Jalen?"

Jalen took in the meaning and looking at Jason carefully, nodded very slowly. "Yes, Jason. Just as I hope you're mine." When he put his arm around him and hugged Jason tightly, Jason found himself returning the embrace.

"Can anyone join this party or do you two wanna be alone?" Jack said from the door.

Jason half-laughed and rolled his eyes as he pulled away. "You _really_ need a door, Jalen."

"It's on the list," Jalen cracked, not looking at Jack but standing up and turning his back to him, pretending to fuss with the cover on his pillow.

"You ready to go?" Jack asked gently, watching Jalen, then Jason.

"Yeah," Jason said, then touched Jalen's shoulder. "I'll send more goods soon as I can. I also want you to come stay with me for a while. If you can be spared and if you won't be bored."

"And if the SGC allows a Tok'ra to roam free in Colorado Springs," Jalen answered glumly.

"I think we can make arrangements, considering Jacob's got some pull," Jack offered.

Jason smiled at him and whispered, "I think I love you."

Jack winked. "You're sure?"

"I'm quite sure. Can I show you later?"

"We'll see."

Jalen stared, wide-eyed at their interaction. For some reason, he'd thought they'd been putting on an act at the fortress. "You guys really _are_..." and he gestured at them.

Jack snorted. "Yes, we _are_ but," and he held up a finger, "you may not tell anyone."

This time, it was Jalen's turn to snort. "I think I can manage to keep a secret."

Jason was reluctant to say goodbye, but he gave Jalen a hug and said, "We'll have to find the time, soon as we can, okay?"

"Deal." Again, Jalen hugged Jason, briefly this time, then shook Jack's hand. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

**.**

Dialing the Beta Site, Jack said, "I'm glad you worked things out, Jace. Really."

"So'm I," Jason answered as he stooped to pick up his second duffle, stashed after arrival, and stepped around the DHD. He suddenly frowned at Jack. "I thought you didn't like him?"

"I'm mellowing," Jack grinned. "In all seriousness, I can't condemn someone for doing what they were ordered, like he had been, and having no control over their actions, like he had none."

Jason sighed knowingly. "Been there, done that?"

"Exactly."

"Well, thanks. I appreciate it, Jack."

"I love you, too, Jason. I can't hate your mirror image no matter how hard I try."

Jason cringed. "That's a creepy thought." As they ascended the steps to the gate's event horizon, Jason halted, eyes wide as he rounded on Jack, pointing a finger.

"What?" Jack asked.

"You're getting only one warning, Jack."

"What'd I do now?"

Jason's eyes narrowed. "One hint of a twin fantasy from you and you're a dead man."

"Hey, it's not my fault you look hot with a goatee," Jack answered just before he dashed through the event horizon.

On the other side, Daniel was waiting and when Jack dashed past him, Daniel called out, "What'd you do?"

Jack didn't answer. Just made a beeline for the doors leading to Command.

"Nothing to the Tok'ra, Daniel," Jason said as he walked down the steps and hugged him hello.

"What then?"

Jason opened his mouth to say, then paused, eyes narrowing at Daniel. Pointing at him too, he warned, "You, too, Daniel. One hint of a twin fantasy and you're just as dead as Jack."

"Who me?" Daniel replied, slapping his hand on his chest melodramatically. "I would sooner perish."

"I'm serious," Jason said severely, shoving the duffle with all the goodies in it into Daniel's arms. "One whiff and I'll truss those jewels up so tight you'll have to have Janet untie them."

Daniel cringed and made a mental note to tell Jack that Jason's uncanny instincts were becoming a pain in the ass. So it probably wasn't a good time for teasing. Maybe later. Maybe.

 

 

End


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